


Blood Bond: Forged In Turmoil

by Talonticus



Series: Blood Bond [1]
Category: Guild Wars 2 (Video Game), Guild Wars Series (Video Games)
Genre: Adventure-ish, Dialogue Heavy, Drama, F/F, Gen, Humor, LGBTQ Female Character of Color, OC-focus, Occasional violence, Romance, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-09
Updated: 2017-05-07
Packaged: 2018-08-07 17:32:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 41
Words: 82,844
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7723498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Talonticus/pseuds/Talonticus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sovica Vlasic has lived most of her life in the safety of Kryta, doing what is expected of her as a noble. Part of her has always longed for adventure and doing what she can to aid the struggling people of Tyria, just like her ancestors once did.<br/>When the opportunity is given to see her people's old homeland of Ascalon, there is nothing else for her than trying to seize it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Choices falter

**Author's Note:**

> _Yeah, I'm not the best at summaries. Sorry._   
>  _I haven't really written anything in Guild Wars before, but I quite enjoy the world and the lore within. I'm more into the second game, though, which is why this story is set in that time._
> 
> _This story starts prior to most of the stuff which happens in that game, and I'm not even sure I'll get into it entirely either. I guess it's kind of like a retelling, but not really. It will have a diverse cast of characters from all of the playable races and the point of the story is to show them being together and facing adversity in their journey around Tyria._   
>  _Usually, I try to write down backstories for the OCs I present, but I was hoping that I could simply write that within the dialogue here, as I go along. We'll see, I suppose._
> 
> _Most of this stuff will just focus on short scenes about them, whenever I feel like I have something I want to add. It's difficult to say what the purpose of this story will be (not even sure that anyone will read a story focused on just a bunch of OCs anyway), but I suppose it's possible to say that I want to try my hand at writing in this setting and with these characters._   
>  _In comparison to the other fics I've written, I'm going to try to focus on short chapters here. Like, around 1000 words, rather than 2-3000 that I usually fall into._
> 
> _Note: This fic stars a black woman as a protagonist. I'm a white writer, so I welcome any feedback from fans of color regarding her._
> 
> _Anyway, enjoy, I guess?_
> 
> _Edit 1/11 - 2016: I gave in and created some[profiles](http://creativebankruptcy.tumblr.com/gw2) for my characters. I'll update it more later on._   
>  _As you might guess by my descriptions of them, the pictures are not their exact appearances, but it's an approximation. They also don't wear those armors during the fic._

_1322 AE - Vlasic estates, southern Gendarran Fields_

The blue and sparsely clouded sky above stands clear of distractions, while the surroundings remain calm and quiet for the most part. The gentle wind carries nothing more than the sound from the tools of the people working the fields not all too far away, twittering birds and the running water of the nearby river. Despite all of this, the woman standing at the side of the center for her family’s estate, feels troubled somehow.  
That might not be the correct word, though. Perhaps ‘restless’ comes closer to it. The lavish dark purple clothing she stands in is quite a contrast from the woman portrayed as the statue she’s watching – hardened leather armor with a long flowing cloak, bow in one hand and the other reaching up to the skies in a sign of victory. It makes her feel inadequate, as it has done for a while now, as if she should be doing more.

“Lady Sovica? Dreaming of heroes again, are we?”

The dark brown-skinned woman with short brown hair gets startled by the voice and quickly turns to face a man a bit further behind. She sighs as she recognizes him as her family’s head of security.  
“Daytor, you shouldn’t sneak up on people like that. I might’ve singed you or something.”

The old man shows her a mischievous smile, and then can’t help but chuckle.  
“I assure you, my lady, I wasn’t sneaking. You might’ve simply been too distracted to hear me, that’s all.”  
While Sovica glances away, Daytor faces what she was watching previously.  
“Admiring lady Miljana again?”

She sighs and then shakes her head.  
“I wasn’t…admiring her, I was just thinking.”  
While she’s not eager to admit it, this piece has always been a sort of inspiration, even if ever intention hasn't necessarily been good. It has consistently been both fascinating and strange to her.

“Well, I wouldn’t try to claim that you are lying, of course, but you do spend a lot of time here.”

“Not that much! It is a fine statue, though.”  
She gives in and decides to return to it as well.  
“I’ve always wondered what it was like. You know, to live her life, especially during those times.”

Daytor gives her a sideways glance.  
“It’s not much simpler now, is it? There’s still conflict out there.”

Sovica exhales once more and peers at him skeptically.  
“You’re well aware that it’s not in the same way. I mean, look at this place”, she says as she spreads her arms to indicate the fields and estate around them, “this is a paradise in comparison to fleeing your own home.”

“And yet you don’t appear particularly pleased with it.”  
Sovica frowns at him shortly, but then looks away again, her eyes getting caught on the farming fields.  
“But you’re right, of course. It must’ve been a tough life. Her clan were hunters, after all, and ones who’d emigrated from Elona.”

Sovica’s eyes turn from something sharp to a more distant gaze, not really watching the landscape.  
“And then they had to flee Ascalon as well.”

“Well, the history books are clear that it wasn’t her generation who left Elona.”

“Perhaps not, but she still had to go through the toughest of trials.”  
She faces Daytor again, somewhat returning to the present.  
“She didn’t just live in a tumultuous time, but a region that suffered. Despite this, she didn’t just stand by and let things be, but tried to do something about it. She led the people forward and fought.”  
Sovica isn’t sure if she can say the same for her family…or herself, even if they disagree.

He has seen that look on her before, one that the heads of the family had warned him about.  
“You may not be ready for that, my lady. You’re still young.”

She rolls her eyes at this notion.  
“And she wasn’t?”

“Sure, but your circumstances are different. She was a ranger and a fighter.”

“I have my magic!”

“And she travelled too, even if it wasn’t always by choice. You haven’t even been outside of Kryta, have you?”

While she begins to frown again, it’s not specifically at his direction nor at his person. Slowly, she returns to the statue, watching the woman’s fierce appearance, stance and the very aura that almost surrounds it, even if it isn’t really her. There was something about Miljana that many could see and feel, from what all the stories have told, that helped her go forward. Without her, the Vlasics would never been here nor sit in this fine estate.  
“Perhaps it’s time that I change this.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Guess I should also warn anyone actually reading this (and future chapters) - I'm not good with descriptions of appearances and stuff like that._


	2. Gated unknown

_1323 AE - Lion's Arch_

As Lion’s Arch isn’t all too long of a trip from her home, Sovica has spent time in the former Krytan capital before. Compared to the tales of the past, it’s nothing like it used to be. Whether that’s good or bad, she can’t really tell. What she does know, however, is that it’s a strange and fascinating place, filled with people from all over Tyria. While Gendarran is quite a diverse region as well, it doesn’t compare to what this city has to offer. It’s here that she encountered many races she’d never seen previously, especially sylvari, asura and norn. Those encounters happened years ago now, but she still knows so little of the world, other than what the books in her family’s library has told her.

It's her first time actually being here alone, as Daytor and the others would never allow it if they had a choice. Immediately when getting here, she decided to pick up supplies and a few other necessities, with what coin she could take with her when she left. It was abrupt, but there wasn’t really any other way to proceed. If you want to see the world, you can’t waste time contemplating your decision; that’s what she told herself anyhow.  
Afterwards, her focus has been mostly on finding a way to get to her destination. The simplest and quickest route is obvious – asura gates. Her uncertainty here is quite apparent, however, as she has never once used one. She has heard that the journey is instantaneous and mostly harmless, but who can really know for sure? There’s been all sorts of rumors of mishaps with those devices. And then there’s the price too. It’s not all too high, but enough to put somewhat of a dent into her wallet, which is not unending.

“Hello there! First time trying an asura gate?”

Having been lost in her own thoughts for a while, she hadn’t even noticed someone stepping up to her side and she twitches while turning to the other person. Next to her is a rather colorful woman, a sylvari.  
Sov tries to survey her quickly; she has fascinating purple skin, mixed in with just a little bit of brown here and there. The petals on top, shaped as rather short hair, are scarlet with a few streaks of yellow. In contrast to Sovica’s brown eyes, hers are amber-colored.  
She’s wearing a dark green jacket with grey leggings. Just like Sovica, she has a backpack as well.  
“Erm, who are you?”

The sylvari smiles and reaches out a hand enthusiastically.  
“My name is Daeynwe. I’m a…traveler, I suppose.”

Sov seems unsure, but eventually returns the gesture. She has never touched a sylvari before, and while the texture gives quite a strange sensation, she wouldn’t definite it as bad. Intriguing, most definitely.  
“I’m Sovica. I am also a traveler, of sorts.”

“One who hasn’t used an asura gate before?”

Sov scowls somewhat. She appears to assume too much, although it’s not exactly incorrect.  
“I didn’t say that.”

Dae looks amused at the response.  
“True enough, I suppose. You were standing there hesitating for so long, that I just figured you hadn’t tried one of these before.”

At first, she feels as if it’s best to fight back, but she could use some help, so she opens up a bit.  
“Alright, I’ll admit, I’ve never stepped through one.”  
Each of the gates are placed in a large facility, with guards of different origin stationed around them, in case anything happens. On top of that, there’s a bunch of asura acting as keepers. Sov’s eyes fall to the strange pink lights emitted, however.  
“They are…intimidating, in a way.”

Dae blinks and faces the same way as Sov.  
“You think so? They mostly look kind of funny to me. Just a bunch of weird lights that shimmer.”

Sov peers at Dae skeptically then.  
“Eh, but can’t they completely destroy you, if something goes wrong?”

The sylvari leans her head back slightly and erupts into a fit of laughter.  
“Oh, I’m certain they can! Although don’t ask the gatekeepers that. They’ll be so offended!”  
She lifts a hand to her chin, to stroke it with a mischievous look to her.  
“Actually, that would be really amusing, so maybe we should.”

Well, a playful one then. Sov doesn’t know if she should stick around or not, but this is the first person she has actually spoken to here and she does seem to have some knowledge of this, so might as well continue.  
“You’ve used these then? They’re safe?”

“Not a lot, but yes, I’ve stepped through once or twice. As far as I’ve seen, they’re safe, but most of all, they’re a lot quicker than walking. Several major cities are bound together in here through these portals. It’s really strange to consider, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, it is…”

“But wondrous as well!”  
Dae had been gesturing to the area around them, but refocuses on Sov.  
“So, where do you want to go?”

That’s the big question, isn’t it? Her eyes drift over to the direction where a bunch of charr are gathered.  
“I…my plan is to get to Ascalon.”

“Oh? The home of the charr?”

Her eyes lower for a moment.  
“It used to be the home of humans.”

Dae tilts her head curiously.  
“Really? I didn’t know that. Then again, I’ve never been there and haven’t read much into it. My focus has been on Kryta for a while.  
If you want to go to Ascalon, though, I think you can just take that portal to the Black Citadel.”

That much was already obvious, but she still hesitates.  
“I…I know, but walking right into the charr capital might not be the best idea for me.”

The gaze she gets from Dae truly seems to display a sense of confusion and lack of knowledge for her reasons.  
“And why wouldn’t it be?”  
She doesn’t know how to properly answer that and therefore remains silent. Perhaps her discomfort is blatant to Dae, enough so that she doesn’t push it.  
“Well, if you wish to go to Ascalon in another way, I can offer an alternative. Unfortunately, it might be a bit slower.”

“It’s better than nothing, hopefully.”

“Of that, I have no doubt!  
You see, there’s a caravan going from here through the asura gate to Hoelbrak tomorrow. That’s the norn city.”  
She knows that much, but doesn’t wish to be rude and therefore doesn’t interrupt.  
“They intend to deliver supplies to a region within the Shiverpeaks known as the Wayfarer foothills.”  
Dae opens up her jacket a bit to show something hidden by her belt – two swords and a pistol.  
“I’ve been hired as a guard, along with a few others, as my next goal has been to see what the mountains has to offer me. If you want, you can come with us! You don’t look like you’ll take much space, so I’m sure they’ll be fine with it.  
It’s not exactly the same, and it will take longer than just grabbing that gate to the Black Citadel, but at least you can choose to go your own route then. On top of that, I can help protect you while we go.”  
She pats her weapons proudly.

The offer itself sounds very intriguing, but at the last part, Sov crosses her arms and feels somewhat defensive. Her traveler’s gear doesn’t help much with that, nor that she doesn’t actually carry any weapons.  
“I can take care of myself, thank you.”

Dae’s smile turns into more of a smirk then.  
“Well, hey, even better! Means you can help out instead of just sitting around.”

While standing here, she had been hoping for some kind of direction, a path which could help lead her towards her goals. This is probably as good as it gets.  
“As I don’t have any other plans or choices, I’m going to have to take you up on that.”

“Splendid! Then you’re with us. Don’t worry, you can stay behind me if it gets all too dangerous”, Dae adds with a wink as a final touch.


	3. From the sky

_1323 AE - Hoelbrak, Shiverpeak Mountains_

Cold assails her from every direction, to such a degree of which she has never felt before. It’s not so much the wind, but the very air itself. A small trickle of snow descends upon her clothes and she moves her fingers across an arm with a small smile.  
Sweeping her eyes across the region, she can see huge buildings of stone and wood within large open areas. There are huts and small houses too, but none of them look anything like what she’s used to. Some could even be said to be more similar to a crescent rather than rectangles.  
While the city itself appears to be located inside of a valley, there are no proper walls within. Then again, up here, perhaps they don’t need such things.

“It’s…beautiful”, Sovica exclaims with a look of wonderment to her. She hadn’t actually expected to come here, when she first ran away, but from the sight displayed before her, she doesn’t regret it.

The caravan of dolyak, wagons and merchants, along with the small group of guards, gradually exit the asura gate from Lion’s Arch and enters the city. They won’t be staying here for long, but it is giving the young human a chance to admire the view.  
Daeynwe breaks away from the rest and goes to stand by Sov’s side with a smile of her own.  
“It is, isn’t it?”

“I haven’t seen a place like this before.”  
She turns slightly to look at Dae.  
“Have you been to Divinity’s Reach?”

The sylvari shares her gaze and nods briefly.  
“Yup! It’s a fine city, but different from this. Hoelbrak reminds me more of a city for wanderers. And tall people, I suppose.”

Sov can certainly see her point, and the variances.  
“Yes, it does. Our capital is so much more of a…well, a fortress, in comparison.”  
She has been to Divinity’s Reach a couple of times in her life, whenever her parents thought it was prudent or if they had something important which she needed to attend. There is also her sister in the Seraph, of course.  
“It’s an interesting display of differences in our cultures.”

Dae agrees, having seen much of Kryta since she travelled there, it was a very exciting endeavor. She’s about to comment on this, when she sees how Sov appears to shiver and rubs her arms.  
“Are you cold?”

Having been taking in the sights, she hadn’t thought to say anything about the climate, but now offers Dae a tentative smile.  
“A…little bit, I guess. I hadn’t expected the temperature to be this low here.”  
Kryta experienced cold in some seasons too, and the edge of the Shiverpeaks weren’t all too far away from her home, but it’s still fascinating how sharp of a change it is to be right within the center of these mountains.

Dae decides to survey her companion and nods once more.  
“Well, you aren’t exactly dressed for it.”

That’s certainly true. It’s not that she wears too little clothes, but her cloak, shirt and leggings are all rather thin. Not that Dae is all that different.  
“I can’t say that you are, either.”

That appears to amuse the sylvari and she places a hand at her hips.  
“I guess you don’t know much about us. My kind isn’t affected in the same way that yours is by heat and cold. Still to a point, but I can handle this.”  
She then starts to drop her backpack off and turn it in her arms.  
“However, I think it’s always good to be prepared. I have some warm spare clothes, if you’d want to borrow some.”

Feeling a bit surprised by the friendly gesture, Sov hesitates.  
“Well, I…certainly wouldn’t mind, but is that okay with you? I could just try to buy some of my own.”

“No, it’s fine! Don’t worry, I did say ‘spare’. I have some for myself, if need be.”  
Once she pulls out the bag, Sov can see how it’s full to the brim with items and Dae actually has to drop some things to the floor first, to be able to pull out a scarf, an extra shirt and some warm socks.  
“Although, we may need to get you a coat or something. I’m sure they have some fur-lined ones here.”

They walk off a bit to the side, sitting down on a bench, while Sov puts the clothes on. It definitely keeps her comfortable for the time being. After she’s put the shirt and socks on, Dae helps wrapping the scarf around her neck, just tight enough to keep it warm and cozy. Sov offers her another smile, this one softer than previously.  
“Thank you.”

Dae shines up into a similar expression at the reaction.  
“You’re welcome!”

After getting her shoes back on, they see that the caravan is starting to gather themselves up, and probably will leave fairly soon. They approach it, while Sov eyes her with interest.  
“You are much more prepared than I am. Have you been in these mountains before?”

Dae managed to close her bag with some proficiency, and has thrown it up on her back again. She shakes her head at the inquiry.  
“Nope, I haven’t, but I saw glimpses of this place in the Dream.”

Sov raises an eyebrow, thinking it sounds like she speaks of more than just the nightly occurrences.  
“What do you mean?”

“The Dream is where my people’s minds wander before we awaken in Tyria. We’re always unconsciously connected to it, so whatever the rest of us experience, the Dreamers are able to get short glimpses and visions from. While I’ve never visited these mountains, others had, which meant I could just inquire for the name and then ready myself before actually going here.”

She hadn’t been told this specifically, but had heard other things of sylvari.  
“That’s…amazing. I had heard that you are born into this world in the shape you have now, but the Dream was unknown to me.”

Dae smiles knowingly.  
"Well, if you’ve never been outside of Kryta, I guess it’s not so strange. The Grove is far away from those lands.”

Sov realizes that there’s much more of Tyria that she has yet to experience and understand, although now she might have that chance.  
“Who knows? Maybe I’ll be able to go there someday.”

Dae looks rather excited at the thought.  
“And I’d love to take you, if given the chance.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _They'll talk more about themselves in the next chapter._


	4. Past purpose

_1323 AE – Wayfarer Foothills, Shiverpeak Mountains_

Two days have passed since the caravan had left the safety of Hoelbrak, following a path towards the northeast. From what Sovica has been told, their goal was to reach a fortress halfway through this area, called Twinspur Haven. It is manned and guarded by the military group Lionguard, which Sovica is familiar with. Their people are seen in several parts of Kryta as well, and she has nothing against helping them, if that is needed.

So far, she hasn’t spent much time talking to anyone else in the caravan. They seem like decent people, being a mixture of mostly human and norn, with one charr among them as well. Sov has chosen to stay away from him for the time being, feeling uncomfortable in his presence. She doesn’t know what his allegiances are, and frankly, she doesn’t care.  
Despite this, she has been quite upbeat during the trip and Daeynwe has been the cause of this sensation. The young sylvari constantly appears awed and fascinated by everything new around her. Not to a level where Sov would feel she’s being kind of ridiculous, but rather cute in a way. Dae seems to have fun experiencing the world and what is wrong with that?

With the wagons and dolyak walking in the middle of the road, most of the merchants are sat on top of them, to steer and control, while the guards are mostly placed around the edges. Occasionally, some sit down on the wagons for rest, but otherwise they continue walking and staying vigilant.  
During the trip, Sov’s mind hasn’t always been on whatever conversation she and Dae has had, but also on nature around them. The elemental forces of Tyria is stronger out in the wilds, especially here in these mountains. She remembers her training from a few years ago, of how her mentor had told her that it would be just so. She could gain much by learning and adapting to those energies, and if she gets the time, she will consider meditating upon it at a later date.

Her thoughts are interrupted when she feels Dae nudging her arm. Turning around, she sees how the sylvari’s eyes are not on her, but rather focused on an animal not too far away. A squirrel, sitting with its back towards the caravan, is picking through the snowy ground. Even though such a large group of humanoid forms are walking so close, it doesn’t seem afraid of them.  
It shouldn’t really be needed, but Dae speaks in a low tone of voice.  
“I bet you that I can run over there and catch it, before it reaches the tree.”

They spot a fairly tall pine tree close to their position, which is probably where it will aim to go, if Dae would launch at it. While Sov smiles at Dae, she also shakes her head.  
“Leave it alone. It’s having a fine day right now, no need to make it worse.”

Dae shifts back around and folds her arms.  
“I’m not gonna hurt it! Just take a little bit of a closer look.”

“You can see it just fine from here, can’t you?”

They’re going further away from the squirrel, but it’s sort of still within range.  
“Come on, it will be fun!”

Dae starts to slow down her pace, but to not lose progress with the rest of the caravan, Sov grabs her arm and pulls her forward again. The sylvari shows a small pout towards her as they do, but Sov mostly finds it amusing.  
“Honestly, you’re way too mischievous for your own good.”

“Hey, it’s just how I am! Can’t change that.”

Sov enjoys that trait in her, despite the complaints. A question pops into her mind as they go, however, one she hasn’t asked just yet.  
“Don’t take this the wrong way, but…how old are you?”

The pattern upon Dae’s barky skin by her face, has allowed her to have ridges which appear somewhat like eyebrows, among other things. She raises one of them now.  
“Why do you ask?”

“I’m curious, that’s all.”

“Hmm.”  
She folds her arms, but then shrugs slightly.  
“Alright then. I think in the calendar you’re using, I should be…almost two now.”

Sov clears her throat, feeling how her lips involuntarily tug into a wider smile.  
“Erm…you’re two years old?”

Dae watches Sov, narrowing her eyes while she does and then comes closer. Before the human can escape, Dae wraps an arm around her and plants the other hand at Sov’s cheeks, to squeeze them slightly.  
“Hey, what’s that smile about? Are you mocking me?!”

It’s not her intention to do so, but Sov starts laughing at the treatment, trying to squirm out of the hold.  
“…no! I-”

“You’re laughing!”

“Because you’re being silly!”  
Dae eventually smirks and let’s go of Sov, when she’s being gently pushed away. Sov straightens her clothes afterwards and tries to calm down.  
“Seriously, I’m not trying to offend you! It’s just…it’s strange to think you’re so young.”

“We don’t grow like you do! I’m not someone who has just recently awoken from the Dream. I’ve got experience!”

“Oh, I don’t doubt it!”  
Sov places a hand on Dae’s shoulder, hoping it’s friendly enough.  
“It’s interesting, that’s all. You seem very…eager and energetic. Not saying that’s unusual for grown people either, but…”

Dae calms down as well, but shakes her head at the notion.  
“I suppose I might be, but it has more to do with when I was born, rather than my age.”

“Oh? You mean the season?”

“No, the cycle. The Mother Tree informs us that our personalities and minds are often affected by the time of day we awaken - Dawn, Noon, Dusk and Night. The dawn sylvari are friendly and diplomatic, while the night ones are more loners and secretive.”

Sov tilts her head curiously, seeing the sense in it, but not how this came to be.  
“What cycle were you born during?”

“Noon, the cycle of people who prefer action and tackling problems directly.”

Another smile comes upon her now, but a rather wry one this time.  
“That…does sound kind of like you, from what I’ve seen so far. Although you’re quite playful too.”

Dae gains a similar expression and shrugs again.  
“I suppose you’re right, yeah. But the world is a fun place! I just want to go out there and see what adventures await me.”

While it sounds a little bit awkward in the way it’s said, Sov can certainly appreciate the honesty of it.  
“Is that why you’re out here?”

“Mm, pretty much. Caledon forest, where I spent the first couple of months, is a fascinating region. It has a lot of oddities to discover and examine, but that sort of thing isn’t for me. I want to see new lands, explore what Tyria has to offer. If people need my help, I don’t mind lending it either.”  
She faces Sov, letting their eyes lock.  
“What about you? You’re out here for similar reasons, no?”

A solemn look descends upon Sov then, quieting her somewhat.  
“I…guess so, yeah.”  
She lifts a hand, hesitantly scratching her neck.  
“I’ve always wanted to travel as well, beyond Kryta and see what other things are in store.”

“So why haven’t you done this before?”

She sighs briefly, pushing her hands in beneath her sleeves.  
“My…parents aren’t that fond of me leaving our home for such an extended period of time. They think that by doing so, I’m shirking my, well, duty. They want me to be like them.”

“Ahh, I see. When I spent time in your lands, I met a few people who said similar things. Are your family farmers? Soldiers?”

Sov hesitates, almost wanting to slip the truth out but then pulls it back.  
“…no, they’re erm, administrators.”  
There’s some grain of truth in that statement.

“Huh. But can’t they just let you do whatever you want? You look like a grown human to me.”

Another exhale, deeper this time.  
“It’s not so simple. They always take themselves and our family very seriously. According to them, we must uphold who we are, or we might lose everything.”

Dae can see there are things Sov is holding back, her gaze being far away from their current position, but by the sound of it, not a lot else will slip through.  
She steps aside momentarily, while Sov isn’t watching.  
“Hey, Sovica?”

“Hmm?”  
The human returns to their conversation after a few moments of silence, just in time to see a snowball being thrown at her. She tries to evade it, but it still hits her shoulder. The impact makes it spray the snow out over her hair, cheek and the top of her back.  
“What are you doing?!”

With an amused grin, Dae is standing a bit away, tossing another snowball up and down in one hand.  
“Testing your reflexes. Better prepare yourself.”

Sov quickly tries to brush off the snow from her clothes, scowling as she does. She can’t just let this slide, though, nor allow Dae to win.  
With a sly smirk of her own, she gathers herself and Dae sees, much to her surprise, how Sov paints some kind of sign made of light into the air.  
A second after it’s done, she makes a quick slashing motion with her hand into Dae’s direction and the ground reacts with her. The cold rises to her will and a pillar of snow is cast towards the sylvari’s location.

Fortunately, Dae has got pretty good reflexes and quickly dodges to the side, but drops the ball she had prepared. She has to roll down into the snow as well, and some of it stays on her clothes when she rises, along with a look of surprise on her face.  
“Whoa, what was that?!”

Sov confidently crosses her arms and tilts her head.  
“Shouldn’t mess with someone you’re not prepared to deal with.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _So yeah, Sovica is an elementalist, which is something I'm going to try to explore how to utilize as I continue. I want it to be a little bit like, in tune with the elements, and not just "mage". Daeynwe is a warrior/thief hybrid, kind of._
> 
> _Oh yeah, Sovica's distrust of charr will also be something I'm going to expand on later. It has to do with that this is still pre-peace talks._


	5. Breaking ice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _This chapter is exceptionally long, in comparison to the others, but as this had a lot of fighting, I had no choice._

_1323 AE – Wayfarer Foothills, Shiverpeak Mountains_

The quiet and calm of the sparse snowy forest would not continue forever, something which most of the members of the caravan should’ve expected. One might say that they did, hence the reason for bringing guards. Unfortunately, they severely underestimated what they might face.  
Along one of the roads where the trees grow a bit closer to it, they suddenly hear odd cracking noises from the side. As if out of nowhere, two birches lose their hold on their positions and falls down across the path ahead, effectively blocking it off for the dolyak, who stop in their tracks.  
  
Daeynwe and Sovica both react to this, sitting up from their spots within a wagon. It had been their turn to rest for a while, but they weren’t ready for an outbreak of action.   
One of the other guards grabs his sword and is just about to yell out orders when an arrow hits his throat, making him tumble to the ground. A human on the other side of the caravan suffers the same fate. Around a handful of them now remain.   
That’s when a dozen large men step forth from piles of snow and thick bushes. Because of their sizes, they’re very clearly norn, dressed in a variety of pelts, thick clothes and armor. Many of them show exposed skin either by their arms, chests or legs, which reveals the range of intricate blue tattoos they wear.  
There’s at least three archers, but the rest have melee weapons of some kind, with just one wielding a staff, which almost looks like a simple branch.   
  
One of the men steps away from the rest, showing his strong pale arms and holding a large axe in his hand. His long black hair and beard stir in the wind, and he takes the opportunity to inspect the group. The merchants already seem terrified and have lifted their arms in defeat.   
“We are the Sons of Svanir and you are encroaching on our territory. As payment, we shall be taking all your wares. We may spare your lives, if you give up quickly, but we also welcome a fight if there are any brave among you.”  
  
His tone and demeanor give little space for debate, and by the look of the warriors around him, it seems they’re just as eager to battle as he is.  
Most of the caravan at this point remains silent, especially after the death of the top mercenary. The merchants don’t appear to be any readier to retort, and being more than willing to surrender their goods to such an overwhelming force. Sov herself also feels fear settling in as her body shivers somewhat, but that’s when she notices how Dae begins to frown and walk to the edge of the wagon, facing the enemy who addresses them.

“Your territory? The norn of Hoelbrak says that no one owns this land.”

His eyes display a bit of amusement as they turn to her, giving a derisive snort.  
“The fools who follow that coward Whitebear know nothing of these mountains – that is why they fled. Dragon owns this land, and we speak in its name.”

Dae frowns even deeper, while she surveys their opposition. Being surrounded does give them a severe disadvantage.  
“You’re pawns of a dragon? Have you not heard that the dragons seek only to devour and destroy us all?”

“We are not pawns, plant girl, and Dragon’s strength courses through us. It does not need to devour us, for we have shown our prowess. In return, we gladly destroy all of its enemies.”

“Hmph, how pitiful. I would’ve thought better of the famed norn warriors I’ve heard so much about.”  
While speaking, she throws a glance at Sov, who has gone back to the sitting on the floor of the cart. Dae tries to give her human companion a sign with her eyes and a curt nod, but Sov is still not sure what to do.

The man at the front clenches his weapon a bit harder, looking a lot more displeased at the moment.  
“I don’t like your tone, girl, nor do we take kindly to insults. Your chance for mercy is diminishing.”

Dae pushes her jacket open and grabs the hilt for one of her swords, turns it around and points the tip in his direction.  
“That is not what I seek anyhow! My name is Daeynwe and if you’re the warrior you claim, then you will accept the challenge of a duel with me!”

The other members of the caravan look distraught at her proclamation, while the man appears surprised at first, before emitting a bellowing laughter. It echoes through the forest, making some of the others join in too.  
“A duel? You believe you can best me?”

Dae shows him a confident smirk, angling her blade to hold it at her side instead.  
“I could do it with one hand tied behind my back, if I so wanted to.”

A second laughter roars through the area, but not as fiercely this time. The man moves his weapon so that he grasps it with both hands and then approaches them.  
“Very well, you shall have your wish.”  
He addresses the rest of his group, but doesn’t spare them a look.  
“Do not interfere. Dragon shall see me triumph this day, and bless me with his strength, before we take the supplies.”

“Too bad that you won’t be taking anything from here.”  
She swirls around swiftly and leans down towards Sov, whispering.  
“Get us some cover while I distract him.”

Sov opens her mouth and is about to reply, but Dae has already turned back around to jump out.  
“Wait! How am I supposed to-“  
That’s all she manages before Dae leaves to meet her foe. Sov sighs deeply, then glances around the area. How much can she really accomplish before arrows start raining down on them?

Dae separates herself from the rest of the group, drawing her other sword as well, moving them around and tightening her grip on their hilts. The thrill before a battle is like few other emotions she’s been able to explore so far, both exciting and terrifying.  
If her foe feels similarly, his features doesn’t show it.  
“I’ll commend you for daring to face me, little plant. You’ve earned some respect, compared to the rest of these cowards. I’ll be glad to splatter your blood in the name of Dragon.”

She flashes a grin and stops when they’re just a few meters apart, getting into a stance that displays her enthusiasm to fight.  
“You’re kind of dour, aren’t you? Are all your people like that?”

“And you are way too sunny.”  
He takes the first step into the fire of battle, trying to swing his axe in a horizontal slash. She reveals her speed and reflexes at this point, ducking beneath it and dashes forward to try cutting at his legs. It ends up being shallow, but she does draw first blood.

Back in the wagon, Sov lets out a shivering breath, knowing what she has to do. It’s rare that she has had to get into these sorts of circumstances, despite the adversity that her people often have to face. She’s been in battle with bandits, twice, but felt safer because she was surrounded by her guards. Compared to those times, they’re in a much more dangerous situation now and not just because of the numbers.  
Placing both hands on the cold wooden floor, she shuts her eyes and focuses on her surroundings, whispering so quietly that only she can hear it.  
“Balthazar, hear my plea. We are about to head into battle, with unknown results and fear for our future. Please, lend us your strength and ferocity, to achieve victory in our hardships.  
Dwayna, I beg of you to grant us your protection in these coming trials, to get us through unscathed.”

Moments afterwards, her hands glow with power and the Sons of Svanir, as well as the mercenaries, who had been distracted by the fight they’re watching, all turn in surprise as a magical circle forms beneath the wagon. It spins and radiates fiercer by the second, until it erupts and sends a wave of snow into both directions, creating a sort of mist which obscures their visions.  
Dae tries to get out of the way, but her back is already turned to it anyhow, while the warriors have to cover their eyes.  
“It’s a trick! Kill them!”

By this point, Sovica launches herself out of her seat as well, trying to get the attention of the remaining guards and merchants to abandon the carts for the time being. They have little choice and escapes from it as quickly as they can.  
Arrows are shot through the snowy mist, but without a clear sight, none of them really reach their chosen targets.  
The mercenaries choose not to speak among themselves for now, knowing it’ll give away their positions, but the fog doesn’t cover much ground anyhow. Their goal is simply to get out into the woods, so that they can use the nearby trees and rocks to gain some defense in this battle. Sovica follows the rest, but realizes that they choose to take the opposite side from where the duel began, meaning that Dae unfortunately is the lone fighter among the other Svanir warriors.

As she can’t leave her friend alone after showing such bravery by giving them this chance, she turns away from the rest and rushes to the other side of the road. While it was she who started the fog, she can’t really see much through it either.   
Her luck eventually turns against her, as she finds herself running straight into one of the Svanir warriors. She recognizes the man with the staff, and just like some of the others, he has long hair and beard, but both of these are in grey or possibly even silvery colors. Sov can’t see much sign of age in his face, however. His chest is exposed as well, which demonstrates that it is quite hairy too.  
“Nice little trick, human, but it does not fool me. You made a mistake striking out against us.”

Sov frowns, taking a few steps back as she focuses on the area around her, trying to draw the magic in.  
“I helped turn our situation around. I wouldn’t call that a mistake.”

His voice sounds almost detached, uncaring for the determination she invokes.  
“You think you’re not outmatched any longer? Your powers are meaningless in the face of Dragon.”

He raises his hand and Sov notices the magical runes which appear around his wrist. Instead of drawing ones like she does, he simply waves his hand and spears of ice begins to form and unleash themselves against her. Thankfully, they’re not all too quick, which allows her to throw herself right to the ground. Her face is pushed into the cold snow, some of it slipping down in beneath her cloak and scarf. Her body is still warm from the adrenaline, though, and she attempts to wipe it away, while she draws a rune in the air, before even rising. She slams her hand down into the soil with force, making the cold material take shape into a much larger set of shards. An ice elemental rises before her.  
“You seem so sure about that, but you’re not the only one with power over the elements.”

The Svanir shaman frowns as he takes several steps back. The ice elemental launches ice just as easily as he could do, with numerous sharp dagger-like creations piercing the air between them. One of them punches right into his legs, while he manages to deflect the others with another few spears. Blood spills on the ground, as he tries to support himself by one of the trees.  
Sov wants to focus on him, but suddenly notices another opponent, as one of the archers has reached them. He launches an arrow her way, which she’s forced to dodge and find cover from. She’s starting to sense that this hasty decision to aid Dae may not have been such a bright idea. Even as the mist has dispersed, she hasn’t been able to find her companion yet, and she can hear fighting all over this area.

Now is not the time to get distracted with worries, however, and she gets in behind one of the trees, kneeling down to the ground. The ice elemental can focus on dealing with the shaman on its own for now, while she handles the archer. She digs her hands down into the cold, brushing away as much of snow as she can, until she can feel the frozen earth beneath it. This element does not radiate as much energy as the water, but it should be enough for her purposes. She summons her magic, trying to push the essence out from the soil and when she thinks she has enough, she jumps out from her cover.  
Another arrow flies her way, but she ducks beneath this one too, just before she swings her arm and releases an arrow right back, this one molded from the earth. One isn’t enough though, and she gathers enough strength for three, all of which tries to hit different destinations. The archer is ready for the first and the second, but the third smashes into his side and she hears him going down with a pained shout. Whether he’s dead or not, she can’t really ascertain yet, because of their distance.

When she feels a foul stirring in the air, her attention shifts back towards the elemental and its fight. To her surprise, the battle between them has ended, but not in her favor.  
The elemental she summoned has changed somehow. On top of its glistering blue icy shell, there are several sharp black spikes poking out from its shoulders, chest, head and arms. She sees how the shaman, still bleeding somewhat, is standing and lowers his arm, obviously having cast a spell upon it. Sov has never seen such a change and widens her eyes when it slowly turns towards her.  
“What…what is this? What have you done?”

He groans and spits some blood out onto the ground, while he now attempts to seal his wound with some ice of his own.  
“Did I not tell you that your powers are meaningless here? This is Dragon’s realm, girl. This land belongs to it.”

As a barrage of black ice is thrown towards her, she tries to evade it, just barely succeeding and reaching for the tree she hid behind previously. This is going far from how she had hoped. She hadn’t considered that there would be those with abilities able to turn her magic back against her. Is this the power of the dragons?  
Snow surges around her cover when the elemental launches even more attacks against her and she can do nothing but hunker down and try to prepare another spell. Internally, she prays once more to Dwayna, begging for the goddess to keep her safe.  
She’s not sure if this is actually a sign from the gods, but shortly after, she hears the sound of a gunshot going off and then the familiar voice of Dae.  
“Two against one isn’t very fair! Knew you bastards fight with no honor!”

Sov pokes her head out, just in time to see how Dae fires a second pistol shot at the elemental, before tossing it down on the ground and picking her blade back up. Sov can see a trickle of a golden liquid upon the sylvari’s chin, running from her mouth, almost like the sap of a tree. She appears just as ready to fight as previously, however.  
“Daeynwe! What…where are the rest?”

“Still fighting the other half, but it’s not looking good! I’m here to help, though!”

She launches herself against the elemental, doing her best to avoid the icy attacks. Sov wants to aid her, but also notices how the shaman prepares another spell. Frowning, Sov kneels down, exposing more dirt.  
“Oh no you don’t.”  
Painting a rune swiftly, she manages to mold the earth into a large rock and tosses it right in his path. The shaman is just about to fire his own attack against Dae, but is forced to divert it in shock towards the earth. The attacks smash together, spraying a cloud of icy splinters and dirt across the area. It’s fairly close to Sov, so she begins to cough when it reaches her, and she attempts to turn from it, to lessen the effect.

When it appears to be done, she gets back up, still hearing Dae fighting against the elemental. She prepares to launch another assault, but detects heavy thuds behind her – footsteps.  
Whirling around, she’s met by the visage of three Svanir warriors, one of them being the leader Dae challenged previously. He’s bleeding across his left arm and left leg, but otherwise he’s not as damaged as she may have hoped. The others seem unscathed too.  
Sov makes a quick decision to prepare an attack towards them, but he’s faster, delivering a punch straight for her gut that tosses her up in the air and makes her tumble down several meters away. She bounces once before gliding the rest of the way across the harsh ground. Having lost her breath, it finally returns to her after a few seconds in a raspy and painful way. Her body aches with pain from her stomach, arms and back, partially from the attack and the remaining from the effect of the impact upon the ground.  
“I don’t enjoy being toyed with, woman. Let us see how you feel about it.”

Sov’s pained cry immediately gains Dae’s attention and she has to retreat somewhat from the elemental to see what’s going on further ahead.  
“S…Sovica! Leave her alone, damn you!”

The lead warrior glances briefly at Dae, but then turns his attention once more to Sov. While she attempts to rise, the pain wreaking through her body doesn’t allow her much reprieve. He can easily reach her position, grab her by the hem of her cloak and then lift her with one hand. He pushes her up towards one of the nearby trees and glares at her, just as she groans again with the severity of the act.  
“You will be the first sacrifice in Dragon’s name. You should be honored, but I doubt you understand such matters.”

His axe is still in his other hand and he begins to raise it, when he’s interrupted. He hears noises from behind and peers over his shoulder, just in time to see a third combatant joining the fray. By the look of the clothes, it shouldn’t be one of the members of the caravan.  
The fighter appears behind the two other Svanir warriors on this side, who reacts to it as well. One gets punched in the face, falling backwards, and while the second raises one of his swords, the new opponent manages to grab his arm by the wrist, stopping the attack, then twists it and tosses him over their shoulder, slamming down hard on the ground.  
When this is done, the lead warrior finally gets a good look of the newcomer – it’s a woman as well, a norn, one whom he somehow recognizes. She’s got long unruly black hair, covering parts of her face, and a long nasty scar running from her left cheek, down over her chin and stops at the top of the neck. Her skin is pale, her eyes are sharp and grey, while her body is dressed in chainmail with a dark blue long coat wrapped around it. He also spots the hilt of a greatsword pointing out from her back.  
The newly arrived woman frowns at him and spits on the ground.

“You speak of honor and yet you choose the most unworthy of battles. Does Dragon only let you fight when you outnumber your foe so completely?”

The shaman clenches his fist from a position not too far away, having seen her as well.  
“Another cub from Hoelbrak? You speak of Dragon, but you understand nothing. You women are all the same.”

The leader scowls at her as well, loosening his grip on Sov.  
“That scar…I have seen it before.”

From the other side of the road, two more Svanir warriors and an archer are approaching them, which gives even less hope for what may have happened to the other mercenaries. The newcomer’s eyes drift towards them briefly, but she seems unperturbed by it and raises her hand to draw the sword from its scabbard.  
“The last of Jormag’s whelps I faced were pitiful. Let’s see if you can do better.”

The warriors go in first towards her, but she’s ready to parry and defend herself with well-honed moves. While it happens, the leader is still focused on trying to identify her. He has seen her before, he’s certain of this, but from where?  
It suddenly dawns upon him with a startling revelation, when she deflects one of the weapons lunged at her and slices the chest of her opponent open.  
“Wait, that…that is one of the Svalen sisters!”

The shaman diverts his eyes to the leader.  
“Katla Svalen? We received a report of her causing chaos in the Villmark foothills.”

“Aye, but she was never sighted alone.”

“But…but that means-“

The leader widens his eyes to shift back towards the shaman when he hears how the voice is cut off by the sound of a sharp impact and gurgling from his companion. An arrow protrudes from his naked chest as he tumbles to the ground and the leader quickly gazes around, finally spotting another norn upon a hill further away.  
Red hair with streaks of black pulled up into a high ponytail, waves in the wind upon another light-skinned woman. Her eyes are green instead, and her forehead, as well as her left cheek, are adorned with a set of almost triangular tattooed black lines. She’s dressed in a brown and fur-lined leather armor, with a long cloak flowing from behind. On her right shoulder, he can see a metallic shape carved like a snow leopard’s head, placed as shoulder armor. She’s wielding a wooden and iron long-bow, shaped in a style often seen used by archers in Hoelbrak.  
The woman smirks at him and offers him a short, nonchalant wave.  
“I don’t understand why you always forget about me. Can’t tear your eyes away from Katla?”

Katla’s voice is soon heard from the battle, shouting over to her sister.  
“Rea, stop messing around!”

“I’m not messing! Did you see that shot? Almost had him in the throat!”

“Kinda busy here, so no, I didn’t.”

The leader’s scowl deepens, even more so as he and the others witness Katla raising her blade and then drawing a hand upon its flat side, making a trio of glowing circles appear upon it. The warriors she earlier downed has joined in battle against her, but they’re far too late. She pushes the sword to the ground, piercing it. A circular symbol suddenly surrounds her and all nearby foes, but while she remains unfazed by it, the Svanir warriors feels a stinging pain over their bodies and they desperately try to retreat. Katla does her best to stop them, spinning around and swinging the blade in a wide cutting motion. Two of the warriors feels deep wounds opening across their bodies as they fall to the ground.

The archer who’s a few steps away attempts to aid them now that he has a better shot, but a surprise awaits him too, when Rea calls out.  
“Grawdr, go right ahead!”

Widening his eyes in shock, he hears a loud roar from behind one of the large rocks nearby, and a polar bear jumps out and tackles him, slashing him with sharp claws.  
The leader watches all this occurring and the thought of his own demise starts to seep in. Should he retreat or fight for the honor of Dragon?  
“Hey asshole? You shouldn’t divert your eyes from an enemy.”

Sov’s words surprises him, as he had almost forgotten he was still holding her and when he once more faces her, it’s the last he sees, as a cloud of dirt is thrown against him. His vision goes blurry and he shouts in frustration and pain as the bits of earth digs around in his eyes when he tries to brush them out.  
Sov has fallen to her knees on the ground, grasping at her chest, finally being freed. She feels how her body aches and protests against the strain she’s giving it, but she tries to rise anyhow, focusing on the elements around her. She has never killed at such a close distance, nor someone who cannot fight back, but at this moment, it’s him or her.  
A part of her wants to show him mercy when he attempts to clear himself from this temporary blindness, but a defensive instinct settles itself from within, and her mind focuses on the ice. She forms two spears of ice from the snow which moves according to the movement of her hand. With a short motion forward, they pierce him twice from behind and his body arches in shock, before he stumbles forward and falls. She hears him groaning, but this quickly dies out.

She can do nothing else afterwards but stare at him lying there as she pants and shivers.  
She doesn’t even notice when three other sets of boots approach her, until they’re too close for any resistance. Thankfully, the sight of Dae and the two tall norn women are the ones who meet her.  
The sylvari tosses her weapons to the ground and embraces Sov.  
“Sovica! Are you…are you okay?!”

It takes a few seconds for her to gather up the will to respond and she shakes her head, while she hugs her own arms.  
“No, but…I’m alive.”  
Her attention then shifts to the other two women, standing a few meters away.  
“T…thank you. We would be dead if you hadn’t come.”

Rea smiles widely and dismisses it with a wave.  
“No need, we’re just happy that we could arrive in time. I’m Rea, and this is my sister Katla. There’s a homestead just a few hours to the west. We can take you there.”


	6. Protector's ire

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _I feel as if always putting the year up at the top of the chapter is a bit meaningless when so much happens at the same time, but occasionally I'll utilize it to show a flashback or something._

_1323 AE – Bearheart homestead, Wayfarer Foothills, Shiverpeak Mountains_

Taking a deep breath, her body shivers somewhat inadvertently, although not so much out of pain as from elation. It feels good to finally be back inside a building and enjoying the heat from a roaring fire. Her abdomen still aches a bit, but the drink in her hand that she sips at occasionally, is certainly helping.  
After the chaos out in the woods, the Svalen sisters had taken the survivors with them to a norn homestead, just as promised. Apparently the denizens were friends of the Svalens, which made them eager to give temporary lodgings, as well as food and some kind of drink made from herbs that helped numb the pain at least slightly. Sovica’s mind was dulled to a small extent because of this as well, but she could live with that. Indeed, the opportunity to continue living at all, was very appreciated.

The rest of the party hadn’t been quite as fortunate. Most of the other guards, except for one, had all perished in the attack and that last one was severely injured. It was unlikely he’d be able to continue along with them, if they were to move soon. Three merchants had survived as well, while one had gone missing. Those who remained were quite eager to move towards the fort as soon as possible, but wouldn’t go anywhere without the norn who saved them. As neither Rea nor Katla intended to leave without first giving Sovica and Daeynwe some time to rest, they simply had to wait for now.

Dae had taken some damage during the battle as well, but reassured the rest that she would recover. She did not decline the offers of a meal however. Sov was a bit worried when she had seen how some tendrils sprouted from Dae’s body to cover any injuries, but the sylvari had told her it was natural.  
The two of them had stuck to themselves by the fire, as the other caravan members were in their own corner. The Svalen sisters had spoken for a while with the owners of the homestead, but are now approaching the fireplace.

“Feeling better?”

They both turn to see Rea and Katla approaching, the former holding a mug of her own with a small smile upon her lips. Dae returns a similar expression while nodding, but it is Sov who responds.  
“Yes, a bit. Enough that we’re thankful.”

Dae sits on the floor and crosses her legs.  
“Indeed, and not just to them, but to you as well.”

“We said it before, but thank you again for coming to our aid and for leading us here.”

Katla places herself on a chair, while Rea prefers the floor not too far from Dae.  
“Ah, it’s no problem!", Rea tells them. "We were heading east towards something different, but might as well stop here to let you two rest. Me and Katla are always happy to give the Svanir boys a good thrashing anyway.”

Katla nods in agreement but doesn’t speak. Sov has already seen that both of them have removed their armors and sit in cloth leggings and thin shirts. They seemed to be unperturbed by the cold while they wandered through the snow earlier. Despite their changes, Katla still keeps her sheathed blade with her.  
This choice also allows anyone to see their physique better. Both sisters appear to have rather toned builds, but Katla stands out as somewhat more muscular, which Sov doesn’t find all too surprising, with the strength she displayed. Since her shirt has shorter sleeves, they also see that her arms have a few scars on certain locations. Sov tries her best not to stare for a variety of reasons.  
  
Sov winces briefly when the large polar bear comes walking over to them, but he simply grunts and collapses on the ground next to Rea. His companion grins slightly when he yawns and cuddles closer to the norn.  
“That’s your erm…pet?”

Rea lifts a hand and starts stroking it through his fur, which he seems to enjoy to the extent of exposing some of his stomach for her to caress.  
“Yeah, he is. Been with us for a few years now.”

Dae tilts her head while she puts a few berries into her mouth. Apparently, she hadn’t thought of the courtesy of not speaking while eating.  
“He’s quite a big fellow, isn’t he?”

“Of course, he’s a bear! And a fine one at that.”

Katla sighs curtly as she shakes her head.  
“He can get very whiny when he’s hungry, though. We’re lucky we ran into you and those Svanirs when we did.”

Sov doesn’t sound particularly enthralled at hearing this, but Rea grins once more. She tries to change subject.  
“So eh, you’re sisters. Do you usually travel together like this?”

Rea continues to care for Grawdr as she responds.  
“Yep, we rarely leave each other's side. Works better for both of us this way.”

Dae glances between the two of them before locking her eyes on Rea.  
“You’re the oldest then, I take it?”

There’s a glare almost immediately turned from Katla at Dae, but Rea starts to laugh.  
“What gave you that idea? I’d think I naturally radiate more youthful joy than Katla.”

It appears Katla isn’t all too talkative, but she does settle down and shakes her head at Dae, seeing as the sylvari doesn’t get very intimidated by it. Instead, she begins to look confused.  
“Svalen…is that a norn word? Does it mean anything? I’ve never heard it before.”

“Oh, no no, it’s a name. It was the name of our homestead.”

“You named yourselves after your house?”

Katla hums in response.  
“To remember it.”

Sov takes another sip from her drink and raises an eyebrow.  
“Something happened to it?”

The two sisters don’t look at either of the others, remaining silent for a couple of seconds, before Rea responds. There’s something wistful in her eyes.  
“Yeah, it was destroyed many years ago now. It was a beautiful house, located in an area known as Snowden Drifts and had been around for generations. It was named from a proud norn hero from ages ago. It was him and his family who had built it and it had been called the Svalen homestead ever since. When we had to leave, we took the name as a reminder.”

Dae strokes her chin in thought, recalling the fight from before.  
“Those bandits appeared to know of you, so…I guess you’re famous somehow?”

Rea especially seems to appreciate that notion, but she still shrugs, which turns into a bit of a nonchalant gesture.  
“Well, you know, people up here respect the kind of things we do and when you’re this skilled at it, reputation comes along with it.”

Katla snorts, not caring as much for this as her sister.  
“We’ve caused mayhem among the Sons of Svanir at several occasions. Sooner or later, you turn into a target. It’s as simple as that.”

Dae smiles, liking the attitudes of these two, even if they have rather different outlooks. Sov takes another sip from her drink, mulling over something else that has been bothering her. She didn’t think to ask before, but while they’re sitting here, might as well. She focuses on Katla.  
“You…you’re not just a warrior though, are you?”

Katla’s grey eyes sharpens and there’s something in them that sparks of curiosity.  
“What makes you say that?”

Sov hesitates for a moment, clearing her throat.  
“Erm, well, during the fight, I saw you utilize something on your blade. It appeared to be magical runes of some sort, but I’m not sure I’ve ever seen them before.”

She relaxes a bit then, as if relinquishing suspicion when her abilities are revealed.  
“Mm, you’ve good eyes. Wouldn’t have thought you’d notice when you were being held down.”

“Well, I’ve studied magic for many years, so my mind reacts instinctively to such a presence.”

Katla lifts a hand to tuck some of her long hair behind an ear and considers some way to explain it.  
“It is…sort of like magic, I think.”

“You think?”

Rea smirks as her sister scowls, more annoyed at herself for lacking a good explanation rather than the question.  
“I’m not quite sure how I should describe it. The way I was taught focuses not just on magical studies, but harsh physical training and strange rituals of all kinds. The so-called ‘magic’ does not erupt out of nowhere, but is rather…imbued in my body.”

Dae scratches her cheek, looking confused.  
“So…you’re not just a sword wizard?”

Rea snickers, but Katla sighs and shakes her head.  
“No, I’m not. My teacher called it being a ‘guardian’.”

Suddenly it dawns on Sov, while hearing the word. She has seen some of them among the faithful in temples and on the streets of Divinity’s Reach. It’s rare for her to witness one in action, though.  
“Ahh, I see! Now it makes sense. A lot of my people are trained in this manner as well. Does this mean that you worship the Six Gods?”

Katla is taken aback by the question, as if the very notion is ridiculous.  
“What? No, I don’t care about your gods. I’m not even sure where you got that from.”

Looking somewhat embarrassed, Sov squirms as she fidgets with the top of her cup.  
“Oh eh, well…I’ve just seen a lot of guardians who fight in the name of any of the Six Gods. When we hear that word, many of my people think of the brave warriors of Balthazar or Kormir.”

Dae smiles at Sov and leans a hand over to gently stroke her shoulder. Katla feels somewhat guilty for speaking so harshly.  
“Ah, well, it is not the same among the norn. In fact, many people other than humans train and fight in this style. I may adhere to the Spirits of the Wild, but they are not why I fight. They don’t affect my combat principle in any meaningful way. I have taken to be a guardian since it is a useful way to fight my enemies. I often prefer that they don’t know of my abilities more than anything. It gives me an edge when they are shocked to see it.”

The words aren’t unkind, but there’s still something that hits Sov in them. They sound nothing like the guardians she’s used to. She has seen them stand and fight as protectors of Kryta, as bastions of security for many. In the heat of battle, Katla appeared more like a vengeful spirit, filled with wrath at those who opposed her. Perhaps norn simply see another kind of benefit in the usage of such magic.  
Dae breaks the silence with a nod of acknowledgement at Katla.  
“It was a pleasure to fight at your side, though. Perhaps I’ll get the chance again in the future.”

Rea grins as she hears it.  
“Oh, you will. We’re coming with you to the fort. You’ll need our help, I’m sure.”


	7. Where the wind next fares

_1323 AE – Twinspur Haven, Wayfarer Foothills, Shiverpeak Mountains_

As the last of the supplies are being unloaded in the distance, the group who guarded the caravan along the way here have separated themselves somewhat from it. They’re not needed any longer and they’ve already gotten the pay they deserved.  
To Sovica, this was a new and exciting experience, even if it would seem normal to others. She has never actually been paid for doing a service like this before, and despite all the troubles they had to endure, it certainly felt good. For a short time, she wonders if this is what lady Miljana used to do as well during her travels. Did she ever come here, to the Shiverpeaks? The official records mention she used to go all across Tyria, to the farthest reaches and bring back stories whenever she could. That’s how the tales lived on, after all.

“So, where do you intend to go now?”

Her thoughts are interrupted by Rea’s voice. They’ve begun strolling towards the only tavern in the fort, if one may call it that, but lingers outside for the time being. The question does bring up a good point.  
“Well, I think I’ll try to continue on the way I had initially planned.”

“And where does the road take you then, friend?”

She hesitates, fidgeting with one of her sleeves as she contemplates whether to reveal it. Not that it’s a secret or anything, except for those at home, but the nature of it may still be odd for ones who hail from a different land.  
“I eh, I wanted to travel towards the east, to Ascalon.”

Rea and Katla shares an interested look with one another, and Rea flashes a wider smile.  
“Really? Do you have business with the charr, or?”

Sov’s expression changes, grimacing somewhat even though she tries to hide it. Then again, she does have to deal with them whether she wants to or not. It’s been their land for a long time, after all.  
“Not…exactly, no.”  
Her eyes move to connect with Daeynwe’s curious ones. The two have spoken quite a lot on the way here, and she has found herself to be the most comfortable in the sylvari’s company, especially with her open-minded attitude and outlook on the world. That said, Sov had chosen to hold back her reasons, even from Dae. It would only be fair to relinquish it all at the same time.  
“The truth is that…my ancestors came from Ascalon. They led a hunting community to the south of the old capital, and were among those who fled and survived the Searing. Since I’ve never been there, I’d wish to see what remains and explore what it has become.”

A silence is instilled after her proclamation, although it is not as heavy as Sov may have feared. It’s likely that they’re all aware of that ancient tragic event at least, by the look in their eyes.  
Rea smiles and places a hand on her sister’s shoulder.  
“Well, as it happens, me and Katla intend to head towards Ascalon too.”

“Oh, you do? Why?”

“We are curious about the creatures called ‘Branded’.”

Sov is aware of the term, having read it in books even if she has never witnessed one personally. It appears these two continue to seek trouble.  
Dae on the other hand, looks a bit more clueless.  
“Uh, Branded? You’re going to have to elaborate for me.”

They hear how Grawdr emits a groan and peers at Rea expectantly. She moves a hand towards one of the pouches which hangs by her belt and pulls out some kind of meat-based snack, kneeling down to feed it to him. He eagerly munches on it, even if he’d prefer to go hunting instead.  
“I would’ve thought everyone had heard of them by now. They’re the creatures who serve the elder dragon Kralkatorrik. It and its brood almost destroyed Destiny’s Edge a few years ago.”

Dae’s eyes suddenly flash with recognition and she smiles.  
“Ahh, now those I’ve heard of! I’ve met one of them, actually, and I recall seeing blurry visions of dragons before my awakening. Not quite sure why you’d want to mess with dragonspawn, though.”

Rea faces her and displays a grin.  
“That just makes it more of a challenge, yes? Besides…”  
She rises, pats Katla’s shoulder and somehow appears even more smug. Her sister gazes at her skeptically, as if she knows what’s coming, but hopes Rea stops herself beforehand.  
“Katla here has got a bit of a crush on Eir Stegalkin, so she’d want to see what could possibly-“

She has to suddenly laugh as Katla’s elbow pokes into her side and pushes her away.  
“Shut up.”  
The older sister shakes her head and then folds her arms.  
“We want to see what kind of threat the Branded really pose.”

Dae arches an eyebrow and tilts her head inquisitively.  
“And…the fact that a group of heroes were humiliated wasn’t enough for you?”

“Those are stories. We want to see the real thing in action.”

Rea has calmed down and looks towards Sov again.  
“If you’re intent on going there, perhaps we should continue to travel together? Having another person to watch our backs isn’t a bad thing and you seem to be able to handle yourself in a fight. Katla has her abilities, but she’s not much for actual spellcasting.”

Katla snorts, but doesn’t protest. Sov won’t disagree with Rea’s assessment – it certainly would be an advantage to have these two fierce norn as travelling companions.  
“Well, I guess you’re right. It’s better than going alone, that’s for sure.”

“Then it’s decided!” No more discussion needed, it seems.  
She glances at Dae as well, who ponders her own situation and therefore hesitates. Sov knows that the sylvari had intended to explore the Shiverpeaks next and this journey was just one part of it.  
“And what about you? Want to go with us too?”

Just like Sov did previously, Dae shares a gaze with her and bites at her own lip in thought.  
“I…don’t have any spectacular reason like the rest of you, but I do enjoy exploration a lot. If you’ll have me, I’d want to join you.  
Besides, it was me who took you here, Sovica, and I’d feel bad if I just left you after what we’ve been through now.”

Sov smiles, although senses some guilt from within.  
“You don’t have to think of it that way, Daeynwe. You don’t owe me anything.”

“Maybe not, but your reasons for going sounds very important. I want to help you!”

Her expression grows even further, feeling flattered that someone she has known for such a short time would care about her desires.  
“What of the mountains, though? Don’t you wish to see what more they have to offer?”

Dae waves dismissively.  
“We can always come back here later, right? No need to take it all in at once.”

She takes a step closer, raising an eyebrow questioningly. Didn’t realize that she was included that far in.  
“We?”

Dae blinks, and then clears her throat when she understands what she just said.  
“Well…you know, if you’d want to.”

Closing the distance even further, Sov eventually lifts one hand up towards Dae’s cheek, while leaning in to plant a kiss on the other.  
“I’d love to have you with us.”

She’s uncertain whether or not sylvari are capable of blushing, but with the stunned silence, the slight glow from her skin, and the glinting in Dae's eyes, this may be some kind of equivalent. Shortly after, she smiles widely.  
“Y-You’ll have me there all the way.”


	8. Threads of intent

_1323 AE – Eastern Wayfarer Foothills, Shiverpeak Mountains_

As the fellowship left Twinspur Haven, they immediately travelled north, although kept themselves away from the road. The Svalen sisters knew enough of the terrain and layout of the landscape to be able to lead them without needing paths like that one. They had informed the other two that Sons of Svanir had been spotted along those routes anyhow and being ambushed seemed like a possible event, one which they wanted to avoid.

Days later, they’ve been able to make rather good progress through the Foothills and from what Rea had mentioned, they only needed a few more to reach the pass through the mountains which would take them into Ascalon. Travelling in such a terrain wouldn’t come without its own perils, naturally, but there is a confidence in them that they can survive such a trip.

They’ve made camp at this point and while Rea is out hunting with Grawdr, Katla only said she wanted to check on something, before she also departed. This left Daeynwe and Sovica alone, for the time being. They had been quiet and tended to their supplies, as well as trying to set up places to sleep, when Dae decides to make the first move which breaks the silence.  
Sov has prepared a spot for a fire, and picks up some kind of stone from one of the pockets on her clothes. It is mostly dark grey, but has a few thin red lines that glows across its surface. Dae watches how Sov squeezes it and focuses on the twigs ahead of her. A light starts to shine in the air close to her hand and with a quick push, she shoves it forward into the wood. It immediately grabs onto the flammable material and moments later, ignites it. Sov appears to be satisfied, pocketing her little stone again and warms her hands by the emitted heat.

She gasps and winces when something comes at her from the side, but it ends up just being Dae sitting down next to her. She breathes out in relief.  
“…you can be pretty sneaky sometimes.”

Dae tilts her head with a look of amusement and glances at the fire. She’s sitting rather close to Sov, with one hand placed just behind her, leaning against that arm.  
“So, you didn’t mention where you were taught magic.”

They hadn’t spoken of that specific topic, but it is something which comes so naturally to her. Must’ve slipped her mind.  
“You didn’t ask.”

“I’m asking now!”

Sov snorts and smiles, turning her eyes to the fire as well.  
“I was taught mostly in Divinity’s Reach, at one of the thaumaturgical schools.”

Finding Sov a way more interesting view, Dae angles back towards her.  
“Are all humans taught in these schools?”

“Most of those who show magical potential, but not everyone. Your…societal status may also determine what kind of level you get to reach.”

Dae notices a flash of something in Sov’s eyes. Regret? Disappointment?  
“You seem to have a lot of control over yours, so I assume you went quite far?”

“Mm, sort of. My teacher grew quite fond of me, so my…status wouldn’t really have mattered all that much.”

“How…fond?”

Lips curl up into a faint smirk.  
“Not in the way you might be imagining.”

“Ah. Well, good.”

“We were friends. He really enjoyed my enthusiasm to study and expand my knowledge. He was a bit…eccentric, often going into tangents and lost track of things when a particularly intriguing topic came to his mind. But, I dunno, I kind of liked that about him. We had a lot of fun discussions together.”

“When was the last time you met him?”

Sov shuts her eyes and sighs briefly, somewhat disappointedly even.  
“A few years. My duties to my family had to come first, so they decided to hire a personal tutor instead. That was a…less enjoyable experience.”

Getting the point to some extent, the sylvari quickly attempts to alter the subject.  
“I can’t say I know or understand much about magic. I’ve seen some of the things that you can do, but do you just pull it out of nowhere?”

Sov appears confused at the question, shaking her head slightly.  
“If you’ve seen some of what I can do, you should know that’s not the case.”

“Uhm, I’ve seen how you’ve shaped earth and snow into spikes, but that doesn’t, you know, tell me anything of how it works. I can’t do that!”

“Tsk, without an affinity for magic, of course you can’t.”  
She takes in a deep breath, gathering her thoughts. It’s best to give an easy-to-understand summary.  
“From what I can remember of the asuran texts I’ve read, the world is surrounded by so called ‘ley lines’ – natural threads that flow through Tyria which channels magic into existence. They exist deep beneath the earth, connecting us all and breathing life into our world.”  
Straightening herself a bit, she glances around the area, searching for items that she can use for demonstration.  
“The natural world of Tyria has four basic elements which everything else stems from.”  
She motions to the side, towards the cold white which surrounds them. “Water.”  
Next, she puts her hand down onto the ground. Because of how they’ve prepared the camp, they’ve brushed away a lot of the snow, revealing the brown beneath. “Earth.”  
Sov raises her hand again, pointing up at the sky above them. As if in reaction, a light breeze blow through their hairs. “Wind.”  
Lastly, she gestures down at the campfire, and the bristling sparks which flickers ahead of them. “And fire.”

Dae watches her human companion with interest, but raises one of her eyebrows questioningly.  
“But those aren’t the only materials around. What about things like, iron or trees?”

Sov smirks, lifting a hand to poke at Dae’s forehead teasingly.  
“Yes, which stems from these elements. The world evolves and changes, creating new ingredients to Tyria, but those elements are the basics.  
For those properly attuned to the ley lines, and if you are taught correctly, one can learn to…”  
Her eyes suddenly turns distant as she concentrates on the flames. Dae shifts her gaze between the fire and Sov, seeing how it soon seems to appear within those brown eyes as well.  
The flames begin to change shape, as if it reacts to Sov’s presence. As she reaches out with a hand, it does the same. Moments later, a few embers separate themselves from the rest and lands in Sov’s hand. As they unite into one, she surges some of her power towards it, creating a stable orb of fire above her palm.  
“…pull at those threads, manipulating the elements to your will.”

Dae watches her with interest, widening her eyes. It had seemed so chaotic, so frantic almost, during the battle. Here, though, when it’s only the two of them sitting calmly, she looks to be completely in control.  
“Whoa.”

She lets it burn for a few more seconds, before closing her hand around it. The flame disperses and only a trail of smoke exits through the gap between her fingers. She smiles at Dae.  
“I’ve always been enthralled by the workings of magic and the elements, which is why I chose this specific path. I would want to go to the lands of the asura someday, as I know their knowledge of ley lines are far greater than anywhere else.”

It seems there’s a lot of places she wants to go, and Dae certainly wouldn’t mind joining her.  
“So, basically, you sort of…feel the nature of Tyria?”

“That is one way to explain it, yes. I can certainly sense magical presences and the strength of elements. Water is slow here, but far more prevalent and ready to act than say, earth.”

“Hmm.”  
Sov notices something mischievous across Dae’s features.  
“Is it possible for you to sense…me?”

She’s trying to see what Dae is getting at, but doesn’t catch the angle just yet.  
“I’m not sure what you mean.”

“Well, my people are unsurprisingly closer to nature than others. We’re attuned to…the world, I suppose you could say. As far as I’ve seen and heard, it’s different for the rest of you.”

It’s not like she’s mistaken there. They are born from a giant tree, or something along those lines.  
“If I concentrate, I guess I could sense your essence, yes. I’m not certain it would be the same way as the elements, though.”

“Would it be an…intimate experience, perhaps?”

Oh, right. Now she’s starting to comprehend where this is going. Dae is already smirking, having a difficult time to hold back. Sov smiles in return.  
“Maybe. I’m not sure, as I’ve not exactly tried that before. Could be dangerous, actually.”

Dae pushes herself a bit closer. The distance between them now is almost enough to feel Sov’s breath.  
“That’s alright. I like danger.”

Sov studies her facial features, gazing into her eyes and following the lines of her lips. There’s something both sweet and yet cunning to Dae. Sov isn’t sure which one she actually drifts towards, only that it’s rather appealing.  
“…I bet you do.”  
She doesn’t pull away and instead bites down at own lower lip, feeling a warmth between them, separate from the one emitted by the fire.  
“I still remember your fight against that Svanir leader. You were very skilled…and brave.”

That helps bring further confidence to the sylvari and Sov can sense how fingers just barely brush over the back of her hand.  
“Well, I tend to do that kind of thing. People like that doesn’t scare me and I love a good fight. You can count on me, whenever you desire.”

A sensation within Sov tells her to just grab Dae now, embrace her and pull her along to the ground. Another part attempts dearly to hold onto some kind of decency. It’s not new to her, but it’s rare that there’s anyone she meets who makes her feel it so intensely.  
Before they manage to explore this endeavor, they’re thrown out of their trance by a loud thud on the other side of the fire. They turn in surprise to see Rea standing there, with a hand at her hip and an amused look on her face. On the ground lies two dead hares.  
“Brought dinner.”

They need to find a better timing for these things.


	9. Clear of heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _See, told you I'd be using another year at some point! This is a flashback, sort of._

_1306 AE – Northern Wayfarer Foothills, Shiverpeak Mountains_

The wind today is fiercer than usual, trying its best to knock her off the steps which she ascends through, but she persists and holds her ground. She’s not so easily broken. Giving a glance across her shoulder, she can see that her wolf companion is displaying a similar amount of determination. They’ve shown to be of equal mind before and that isn’t breaking here.  
It’s not as if getting up this hill is supposed to be impossible, but she has always suspected that it is just one part of the challenge which the denizens up top have tried to procure for those who seek them.

“Eir, there you are!”  
The red-haired norn peers up somewhat, towards the top of the hill and spots another woman, albeit older, standing there in leather armor with a long fur cloak around her back. Her short grey hair and light brown skin are slightly exposed to the winds, and her arms are placed at her hips while she looks at the younger woman with a bit of amusement.  
“Not having troubles, are you?”

“Not in the slightest!”  
Have to show confidence, despite the situation. It forces her to put on some further display of strength and not long after, Eir is finally next to her. Immediately, Eir offers a hug for her, which is gladly accepted.  
“Hulda, it’s good to see you again.”

“And you too, my friend. How long has it been since you were last here, eh?”

“Far too long, I’d say.”

Hulda soon redirects her attention towards the wolf and kneels down as he comes towards her, wagging his tail eagerly.  
“Hah, good to see you too, boy! My, you must’ve grown since we last met.”

Eir smirks and folds her arms while she watches them.  
“I think your sight may be deteriorating, my friend. I doubt he was of a much different size from our previous visit.”

“Tsk, feels like it to me!”

After greeting each other, they start moving further onto the rather large area on top of this hill. At the far end, Eir can spot the familiar homestead. It’s not very large, but quite homely and sturdy. It has stood here for a long time, after all.  
It doesn’t keep her focus all too much, however, as she hears sounds of people to the left. Over by some of the small number of trees up here, she spots three.

The first and tallest is a man, one she easily recognizes. It’s Birger, Hulda’s husband for many decades now, a man with fair skin and long grey hair on several parts of his body. He still has the prosthetic metal leg that he’s been using for ages. Initially, he was simply using a short wooden pole, until they asked for help from a particularly crafty charr, who helped them create something. It was apparently quite painful to attach, and he still doesn’t have his full mobility restored, but it’s better than nothing. He’s currently holding a cane in the other arm too.

Right in front of him are two much younger people, a duo of norn girls. They’ve both got light complexion, but one has black hair while the other’s is a mix of red and black. From the look of things, they appear to be teenagers and sparring with wooden swords. Well, most of the time. Occasionally, the red-haired one decides to mess around, earning a disapproving look from the other and a grunt from Birger.

Eir watches them for a short time, before glancing at Hulda in surprise.  
“Eh, I wasn’t aware that you decided to have children.”

Hulda arches a questioning eyebrow in her direction.  
“Excuse me? Look at them, Eir. Do they appear to be so young that you would’ve missed their birth?”

Clearing her throat, she momentarily feels a bit stupid.  
“…well, I don’t know! Maybe you were hiding them last time.”

Hulda smirks and nudges her elbow into the younger norn’s side.  
“I would never be hiding my children, not from anyone. No, those are the Svalen sisters, Katla and Rea. We took them in a couple of years ago.”

Eir’s expression turns serious as she thinks back.  
“The name is familiar to me. It was a homestead somewhere…to the north?”

“To the west, actually, over by Snowden Drifts.”

More information floods her mind. Svalen is a name that many norn recognizes, but not so much from the homestead as from the stories. He used to be a famous warrior many generations ago, long before they had to flee south.  
“I heard something about it being destroyed.”

For now, they remain at a distance from the three. Hulda sighs, a saddened look reaching her eyes.  
“Indeed it was. It was the Icebrood. Only the sisters and their parents were living inside at the time, so they stood little chance against a large group of dragonspawn.”

Eir frowns slightly. Unfortunately, this tale has been a regular one for a long time now, ever since Jormag awoke. Norn have always been individualistic and often choose to live in small groups. That did not serve them well against the dragon’s hordes.  
“I…I’m sorry to hear that. The parents did not survive?”

Hulda slowly shakes her head.  
“Rea has spoken shortly of it, how they ran through the snowy night. She was asleep when the attack happened, so she couldn’t give much details other than how they survived afterwards, before we found them. Their parents had taught them some tricks, fortunately.”

Eir watches the two girls sparring. From a quick glance it appears that the older, Katla, works better with a blade in her hands than Rea. She’s rather swift as well, but doesn’t use the same kind of finesse as Katla.  
“What about Katla?”

A few moments of silence, making Eir peer at Hulda. The old hunter looks to contemplate the question.  
“She…she refuses to speak of it. I’ve tried, but…”  
Her gaze hardens, almost peering at the girls protectively. Eventually, she meets Eir’s eyes again.  
“Whatever she saw, it has taken its toll on her.”

“But not on Rea?”

“Mm, in a way, but she’s a lot more spirited. Part of me actually believes she tries to stay positive for Katla’s sake.”

This dark topic wasn’t why Eir had come here and she doesn’t want to worsen the mood with her arrival, and therefore alters the subject.  
“Katla is quite adept with that blade. Do you ever let them fight with real ones?”

A smile returns to Hulda’s lips.  
“From time to time. It’s Birger who usually tutors Katla, while I tend to Rea. The little one has good reflexes, speed and precision. She makes a better ranger than guardian.”

Eir gazes at her with some surprise once more.  
“Birger really intends to make her a guardian?”  
She hasn’t seen it in action, but has heard how rigorous the training can be, even dangerous.

Hulda nods sharply.  
“Yup! Or that’s what he says anyway, but he is rather protective of Katla. I wonder if he has the heart to take her through all those rituals.”  
She then places a hand on Eir’s shoulder.  
“C’mon, let’s go say hello, shall we?”  
Eir gives a smile in return and they close the distance to the other three.  
“Katla! Rea! We’ve got a guest! Come greet her, will you?”  
Both girls whirl towards them with interest, as their long hairs flutter in the wind. Rea seems to be excited at the notion, while Katla’s eyes are quite wary at first. Birger shows a rare and small smile in Eir’s direction as he lets the girls approach her.  
“This here is Eir Stegalkin and she’s a friend. Me and Birger used to be good friends with her father as well, even though that was a while ago now.”

Rea arrives at their location first, stabbing her wooden blade into the snow and bluntly reaches out with a hand in Eir’s direction.  
“Hello there, I’m Rea! Nice to meet you.”

Eir snickers shortly and then takes her hand. She’s not small exactly, but her grip isn’t all too firm either.  
“You too, young one. I hear you’ve been practicing with Hulda?”

“Yep! Think I’m pretty much good enough to start hunting on my own soon.”

Hulda smirks and shakes her head.  
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. I said maybe, if you impress me on the next hunt.”

“I always impress!”

Eir moves her gaze over towards Katla. The slightly older and taller sister views this stranger in silence. Her grey eyes watch Eir, not so much in suspicion, but still cautiously. When Katla hasn’t proven to be as eager as her sister, Eir lifts a hand towards her instead.  
“And you’re Katla, right?”

“Yes.”

Her tone is quiet, but her handshake is firmer.  
“Hulda tells me that you’re tutored by Birger. Will I be seeing another guardian here soon then?”

Katla doesn’t say much, merely looking at her. Unless she’s mistaken, though, it seems like Katla has begun to blush. Not quite what Eir had anticipated.  
Katla suddenly twitches as her sister grins and elbows her.  
“You’re not supposed to just stare at our pretty guests, you know.”

Katla’s blush intensifies as she glares back at Rea.  
“Shut up.”

Well, that had some flare at least. Both Eir and Hulda begins to laugh.  
“Hey, since I’ll be coming up here a bit more often for a while now, perhaps we should train together someday?”

Hulda smiles in Eir’s direction.  
“I think that sounds like a fine idea. It’d be nice to see if your skills haven’t dulled, down in that cozy place to the south.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Next chapter will get back to the present time, but occasionally I'll jump to something like this. That's why the years can be useful._


	10. Fresh steps

_1323 AE – Diessa Plateau, Ascalon_

After an extended journey through the mountains, the group eventually wandered out into a wooden area on the western border of Ascalon. It was an odd feeling for Sovica, walking into the land of her ancestors which she has never seen, and yet it still is somewhat reminiscent of Kryta. She had heard that the current homeland of humans had changed over the centuries, but this still wasn’t what she had expected.

They were soon met by a charr outpost along the northern outskirts of the forest, but they decided to avoid it and continue through the woods instead. For the time being, they didn't encounter many of the local patrols and Sov preferred it that way. She has met a few of their kind, but often felt uncomfortable in their presence. Thinking they inhabit the land that they took from her people doesn’t really help ease her mind.

Moving past the charr town, they’ve finally approached a different landscape, much more open and free of distractions. Large fields and plains reach out before them, with the occasionally interruption in the forms of farms, old ruins or smaller outposts. The charr’s High Legions like to spread their military efforts even out into these territories, it seems.  
She spots a smile upon Rea’s face, as the norn folds her arms when they decide to stop to watch the scenery.  
“Now this is quite a nice view. Katla and I have heard some about how the charr have so much metal and structures everywhere, but this actually looks quite peaceful.”

Sov smiles and nods in agreement.  
“It does, doesn’t it?”

“I guess we’ve entered Ascalon properly now?”

Katla sets down some of her gear on the ground, while Dae finds someplace to sit in the grass. Sov moves to stand next to Rea.  
“Mhm, seems about right. This should be the western border of Ascalon. It stretches out further to the north, but we won’t need to go in that direction.”

Dae closes her eyes when she feels a breeze touch them very gently, enjoying the peace. Not that it’s been very hectic with the trek through the woods, but she feels good about being in the open too.  
“Do you know anything interesting about this land?”

Sov nods once more and then pushes a hand down into her clothes to extract a rolled-up piece of paper – a map.  
“Yes, I’ve tried to follow where we’ve been going and compare it to what I’ve read through texts back home. This place used to be known as the ‘Diessa Lowlands’, one of the areas north of the Great Northern Wall, which protected parts of the old human kingdom.”

Dae arches an eyebrow in question.  
“Wait, so…they built a wall to only protect some of their people?”

That would make it unfair and Sov sees her point, but she shakes her head.  
“Oh, no no, the wall was built before humans expanded in this direction. Ascalonians had mostly inhabited regions to the south from here until after the wall was built. It wasn’t seen as necessary to extend it even further, though.”

“Hmm, I guess that makes more sense, yes.”

Sov’s eyes drifts back up to the scenery in front of them.  
“Because of how the landscape was shaped, when humans expanded their territory here, just like the charr now, they focused their efforts upon farms with only the occasional larger town being settled over time.  
Eventually, with what was grown by the occupants, a lot of important trade routes were created to several other parts of Ascalon, and despite the existence of the wall being down to the south, much of the army still patrolled here against the dangers that threatened the farmers and cities.”  
She points further to the east.  
“The Grendich courthouse used to sit in the center of this region too and was one of the places with substantial judicial power in Ascalon, respected by many.”

The others listen in silence, but when Sov seems to be done talking for the moment, Dae scratches her chin.  
“I guess that’s…mostly ruins now.”

It doesn’t need to be a question, for they can see ruins even from here. Broken creations of stone can be spotted in all directions. It doesn’t necessarily litter the whole land, but the charr seems to have trouble grinding human history down completely.  
Sov sighs briefly.  
“Yeah. Most of what this land used to be was razed by the charr offensive. From what our history books mention, the landscape was scorched and barren during the time of my ancestors, as the invaders didn’t care to spare even the ground from their assault. Many of the citizens who tried to flee didn’t get past the wall either, for the people to the south had to closed it to hold the attackers back.”

She doesn’t speak more on those implications. Rea glances at her, but also peers at the area before them.  
“Well, I see a lot of greenery ahead of us. I suppose it must’ve grown back and the charr has seen the need to preserve it now.”

Sov is already feeling quite down when thinking of what once was and she simply shrugs.  
“I guess so. Didn’t do much for my people.”

It appears that Sov has found herself in a sour mood, thinking of her old history lessons. She may not have been here previously, but humans have lost much of what they once were. Those who study their past usually don’t find anything good.  
Katla has been quiet up until now, but finally joins in on the conversation from where she’s standing.  
“It’s not much to look at now anyway. Just farmlands and broken remnants that nobody cares about.”

Sov frowns in her direction, feeling offended at the rudeness. She doesn’t say anything, but Rea sighs and tries to give her sister a meaningful look.  
“Katla…”

Her tone is scolding, but Katla just shrugs.  
“I’m simply being honest and saying what I can see. Do the rest of you have anything else to contribute?”

Both Rea and Dae want to think of something to say, but it’s difficult to do so without feeling that they may appear to just be trying to comfort Sov.  
The human tries to control her emotions then, holding herself back. When she next speaks, she sounds rather sure of herself.  
“Well, with you around it’s hard to see anything at all, most of the time.”

Katla slowly angles her head in Sov’s direction, peering down at her. The height difference between them is quite large.  
“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Sov snorts and shakes her head.  
“You’re so damn tall that I’m always at crotch level. It’s often all I ever see when we walk together.”

While Katla gives her a thoroughly unamused look, Dae tries her best to hold back laughter. Rea has no such reservations and indulges in bursting right into it.  
Katla sighs and eventually sits down to be in a more amenable height.  
“You’re lucky I don’t hit weaklings.”

Sov finally shows a small smirk and nudges her elbow into Katla’s shoulder.  
“I’d like to see you try! I can pack a punch myself, you know.”

“Don’t test me.”  
Even though her tone is kind of threatening, Katla does smile somewhat. It may be awkward, but Sov appreciates the sentiments she’s trying to express.


	11. Fear not those days

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Sovica likes her history, perhaps a little bit too much._

_1323 AE – Southern Diessa Plateau, Ascalon_

The Great Northern Wall. Despite centuries having passed and knowing how it has gone through wars, conflicts and environmental change for much of its time, parts of it still stands. One might even say it would be impressive, if it was not for the fact that almost the entirety of its length is on the verge of crumbling. Sure, it will require quite a few pushes before it goes down, but that task can be done, if there are those who seek its total eradication.  
For Sovica, it’s difficult to gaze upon. The visage gives her eerie feelings of the same thing that is happening to humanity overall right now – still standing, but on the verge of collapse. It’s a sad sight and a part of her wants to turn back and leave this area, while another wishes to find some way to mend it. As of this moment, she doesn’t think she can do either, but instead let its presence at least be some kind of lesson to her.

While the Svalen sisters stand further behind and survey the landscape for any threats, Daeynwe wanted to come and stand with her. Naturally, she can’t really understand the significance in the same way as Sov. Not that the human was there when it occurred, but she has read and heard of the repercussions of its fall during her entire life. People mourn it, even though many generations have passed.  
“This is it?”

Sov keeps her eyes upon the wall, but nods slowly in recognition.  
“Yes. The…the Great Northern Wall, or what remains of it. It…it was partially destroyed by the charr. The complete destruction wasn’t needed.”

“Because of the Searing?”  
Sov frowns and inclines her head, but doesn’t respond. Dae feels stupid for asking. Sometimes she just goes ahead before properly deciding if it’s actually a good idea.  
“Erm, do you want to take a closer look?”

They’re still several hundred meters away, as this is where Sov wanted to stop. She doesn’t know why, but getting too close is almost like approaching a corpse to her. Or perhaps a skeleton, in this case.  
“I’m…not sure that’s a good idea.”

“Why not?”

She hesitates again, her eyes moving around searchingly before shutting.  
“It feels disrespectful. It has suffered enough from people as it is.”

Dae confusedly arches an eyebrow.  
“What? Sov, it’s a wall, not a dead body or a grave.”

“That’s what it feels like to me, though.”

Dae glances between Sov and the wall. It was she who had suggested they come here, hoping that it would bring Sov some joy. She’d noticed sorrow in the human’s eyes whenever they spotted ruins so far, but much of the wall still stood. Dae had expected it might bring her some hope instead, but now it almost seems to do the opposite.  
“You can’t keep wallowing in the pain of the past, Sovica. This didn’t happen during your time. It was long ago and things have changed.”

Finally opening her eyes again, Sov shares a look with the sylvari.  
“You…you just don’t understand.”

“I do. I understand that you see the atrocities and suffering which has happened in the past, but that’s what you’ve read in books. Life is different now and the wall is still here. You are one of those humans who have returned to Ascalon. Doesn’t that show something positive?”

Her words do have some kind of impact, but Sov still remains unconvinced.  
“I don’t know.”  
Dae senses some frustration within, although she’s not sure if it’s with Sov or her own failure. She wants to make Sov happy and even though pushing it may not be a good idea, she doesn’t know what else to do.  
Perhaps she needs to take it further, after all. She grabs Sov’s hand tightly and begins to drag her along in a quick pace. Sov gasps and then attempts to squirm away, without success.  
“W-what are you doing?”

“We’re going to touch the wall.”

“I…I don’t want to.”

“We’ll see when you get there.”

Sov emits an irritated grunt tries to find some way to remove her hand, but Dae is stronger.  
“Let go!”

She does not relent, and they keep going all the way up to the wall. If there’s anything Sov can’t beat Dae in, it’s being stubborn.  
When they’re right in front of the old stones that make up the monument, having moved past a lot rubble, she takes Sov’s hand and gently places it upon the surface. Suddenly, she goes silent and Dae turns to watch her.  
“Don’t be afraid.”

Sov’s eyes have widened and despite having opposed it earlier, her fingers now move with interest across the ancient bricks. Because of her magical affinity, she can also feel the sturdy elements which still inhabit this part of the land. They may have been taken out of the earth, molded into something different and placed so tightly together, but the elemental energy has not left them. They endure, just like the wall.  
“I…”

Gently and gradually, Dae lets go of her hand, taking a few steps back. Sov remains where she is.  
“There is no need to fear the past, Sovica. Everything changes and the world lives on, as do you.”

She feels a shiver travel through her body and she lowers her head with the realization where she’s now standing.  
“I know. It’s not that I’m afraid, just…it carries a lot of pain with it.”

“Everything can be rebuilt. We must remember the past, but not let it consume us.”  
Dae isn’t sure where that came from, but it sounds like something that the mother tree would say.

After about a minute of silence, Sov straightens herself again, and the sorrow has mostly drifted away. It brings a smile to Dae’s lips to see it.  
“You’re right, of course. I guess I tend to absorb myself too easily into history.”

Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Dae shifts her eyes downwards, towards the rubble beneath them. Much of the wall has eroded through the centuries and it still probably does, but that has left a good way to remember it.  
She grabs a small piece of the remnants which is enough to fit in her grasp and then approaches Sov with it. She gently takes the human’s hand, opens it, places the rock within and closes Sov’s fingers around it.  
“Well, since this is part of history, your history, it should be in your possession, I think.”

Seeming surprised once more, Sov turns it around in her hand. It may be difficult to tell from which part of the wall this one fell off of, but it’s preserved well enough. Doesn’t crumble further when she squeezes it and while it’s not all too easy to see its origin, it does carry the color and the long ages of having weathered all kinds of storms.  
“You don’t think it would be wrong of me?”

“This wall once belonged to your people, right? I’m sure it’d be happy to be in the hands of one of those descendants.”

A little bit of a silly notion perhaps, but it fills Sov with a warmth she hadn’t expected. That comes through in the smile she gives Dae.  
“Thank you.”

Dae returns a bright smile of her own. This was just what she wanted to see.  
“It’s…a somewhat weird gift perhaps, but I think-“

Before she manages to say anything else, she’s interrupted by Sov, who raises her arms up around Dae’s neck and pulls her into a close embrace. While shutting her eyes, Sov guides her lips to collide gently with those of the sylvari.  
Dae has hugged humans before, touched a few people’s cheeks and hands, but never went anywhere close to them with her mouth. Well, there was that one bandit she bit, but…this is an entirely different experience, one she couldn’t have imagined would occur to her. In the past, she had witnessed signs of emotional attachment and intimacy and felt rather intrigued. The difficulty was just finding someone who wanted to do the same with her and until now, that hadn’t been possible.

She’s stiff at first, because of the shock, but when she regains control of her body she guides arms around Sov’s waist and returns the kiss to the best of her ability.  
When it ends after a few moments, it feels much longer for both. She is stunned in the afterglow and despite that Sov initiated it, she looks much the same.  
“Whoa. That was…”

There’s a smile on Sov’s lips, but she bites at them somewhat nervously.  
“…sorry.”

Their eyes meet once again and Dae strokes a few fingers along Sov’s back.  
“What? No, don’t be. I…I very much enjoyed that.”

Sov gazes down, somewhat embarrassed.  
“You’re sure? It’s been a while since I did that with anyone.”

Dae tilts her head closer, nudging her nose against Sov’s.  
“It was a first for me, so you don’t have to worry.”

“…that was your first time? Oh dear. You probably deserved better.”

She smirks, trying to regain their shared gaze. Takes a little bit of struggle, but she manages eventually.  
“Not sure why you say that. It felt, well, very good to be honest. I didn’t know what to expect from a kiss, but your lips are…very soft and pleasant. Kinda tasty too.”

Sov giggles slightly, leaning her head against Dae’s shoulder.  
“Erm, thanks, I guess. Don’t think anyone has said that before.”

Dae begins to grin instead, but continues to move her hands to comfort her companion.  
“I wouldn’t mind…going in for another try either. You know, just to make sure that I got the entire experience.”

This had all escalated rather quickly, but the tension has at least been there for weeks now. Sov never thought she would make the first move, however. She shows an amused expression when she tilts her head back.  
“You’re not as smooth as you may think, you know.”

“And yet, I’ve got a beautiful woman in my arms right now.”

“Tsk, lucky strike.”

She prevents any further retort by angling her head somewhat sideways and leaning in for another kiss. This one is deeper than the last one, their lips parting slightly to admit some access for one another. Sov’s hands travels further up this time too, burying themselves in Dae’s hair.  
It’s an unusual experience in a way, being so close to a sylvari. Her skin is rougher and sturdier than that of a human, while her hair is similar to touching leaves on a bush. Describing it as ‘kissing a tree’ would be rude and unfair, as there is life flowing within those lips, but it’s certainly a unique experience. A tingling sensation rocks through her when Dae wraps arms tighter around her.

Neither of them are sure how far they’d actually go, but that answer will have to wait anyhow, for they hear someone clearing her throat loudly to the side.  
“There are bandits nearby, so don’t get too distracted, lovebirds.”

Both of them twitch, separating at least their mouths to peer startled in Rea’s direction and her smug face. After a couple of seconds, they awkwardly disentangle and dusts their clothes off.  
“Right, erm…I think we’ve got everything we wanted from here anyway. Right, Dae?”

“Yup! Onto the next area!”

Rea smirks and shakes her head while Grawdr snorts in agreement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Only took eleven chapters, but now the relationship is official._


	12. Flame and Ash

_1323 AE – Southern Diessa Plateau, Ascalon_

Gunfire. It’s been a rare sound for all of them so far during their journey and when it now echoes out over the fields, they can easily identify it. Sovica had been keeping a close eye on the map as they wandered and figured that they would soon reach a large gap in the wall, which would allow them to find a passage to the other side of it. It would seem that it’s not as safe of a route as they were led to believe. On a scouting trip a few days earlier, Rea had heard rumors that ghosts would be haunting the area, but she did not take such words seriously. Perhaps she should have, after all?

All of their fears shift into something different when they get closer, however. At this section of the wall, there’s a lot more remnants of ruins which the charr have yet to remove and the group is therefore able to use that as cover to watch whomever is fighting in the vicinity.  
When they peer over the rubble, however they don’t see a fight against ghosts, but rather charr battling one another.  
The large furred creatures wield a whole range of different weapons; from swords and maces to large rifles and bows. There’s even a few spellcasters among them, as they see a duo of them lobbing fire balls against the other side.

At the sight, Rea turns to glances at Sovica.  
“Uh, I thought you said that the charr were waging war against your people?”

Sov is frowning deeply. She doesn’t wish to admit it, but somewhere within she hopes they eliminate one another. It is beneath her to be so unfair, but she cannot stop those thoughts.  
“Perhaps they’re just sparring. Charr are difficult to comprehend.”

Almost precisely at that moment, one of the fighters gets a rifle blast straight to his face and he falls down in a bloody mess on the ground. Dae widens her eyes.  
“That…does not look like sparring to me.”

Katla has to hunch over the most, because of her height, and she’s leaning slightly forward with an arm against the top of the ruined building.  
“I think they’re different factions.”

Rea gazes at her sister instead.  
“What makes you say that?”

She moves the hand to point at a few of them.  
“Look at their armors. You see some of the symbols across them?”

While some of the group appears to wear similar types of equipment, it’s mostly a whole mess of different types of gear. The one comparative feature, however, is as Katla points out, two sets of symbols. Some of them wear a mark which resembles a burning ember, while the other looks more like a black sun.  
“Oh yeah, you’re right. It seems they’re the ones fighting on opposite sides. I remember hearing of the High Legions, but I thought they were all united.”

Dae glances at Sov. She’s the only one who has read much of the charr.  
“You know anything about that?”

Sov scowls, but this time in thought.  
“I have heard of the Flame Legion. It is said that they were the former leaders of the High Legions, but there was some kind of fallout and they broke away.”

Rea searches across the battlefield, seeing the embers being the ones to assault the others.  
“Flame Legion, huh? Seems like they’re the aggressors here. Perhaps we should pitch in.”

Sov swirls her head around towards Rea and widens her eyes.  
“What? Why would we do that?”

“Just look out there. Does that seem like a fair fight to you?”

It is true that the Flame Legion apparently has the upper hand, and not just because of the magic and the numbers, but better equipment too.  
“If this is a war between the inner factions of the charr, I don’t see why would we try to interfere.”

Rea’s frown now turns towards Sov.  
“You need a reason? How about the challenge of a good fight and helping out people being ambushed by a much larger force?”

“And what’s to say that the other Legion hasn’t done the exact same thing, and this is just revenge?”

Rea snorts and shakes her head.  
“Your hatred of charr is messing with your judgement, Sovi. You’re making up excuses.”

“And you are trying to get us into trouble without reason! This isn’t our fight.”

Dae peers between the two of them with an uncertain gaze before she sighs.  
“I don’t know, Sovica…I think I agree with Rea. This fight doesn’t seem fair, no matter what reason they have.”

Sov can’t believe what she’s hearing, that her friends are actually contemplating getting involved into what may very well be a war. Why would they take sides?  
“And how would it be fairer if we interfere? We’d just be doing the same to others.”

“Fuck this.”  
Suddenly, they see how Rea stands up, plants her hand on the top of the rubble and leaps over it. Right after, she pulls up her bow and advances.  
“You wanna stay here as cowards, be my guests.”

“Rea, wait!”  
Sov groans and slaps one of the rocks among the rubble.  
“She’s way too hasty.”  
Grawdr follows her and while Katla looks disapprovingly at her sister, she does the same. Neither of this pleases Sov, of course.  
“Hey, where are you two going?!”

Katla lifts a hand to the hilt of her large sword and pulls it out from its scabbard.  
“I can’t let Rea do this alone.”

“So you’re going to engage all of them? This is suicide!”

“I’d like to see them try.”

Any more yelling would be futile, as the sisters are getting too far away and Sov emits some more complaining noises. Are they actually insane? Getting involved in a fight like this will only create more enemies.  
Dae gazes at Sov and gives her a faint smile, not wanting to tear at any bridges that she has managed to create with her companion.  
“I know you don’t want to do this, but…can’t we at least try, for Rea and Katla’s sake?”

Sov frowns, rubbing at her forehead. She gives Dae a short glare, which makes the sylvari wince, before she peers out over the field again. The charr are fighting around the remnants of three or four ruined buildings, the same kind of ruins that they once sacked when they took this place. It somehow makes her seethe even further.  
Dae does have a point, however – the Svalen sisters have helped them along the way, saved their lives. Would it be fair to let them get into danger so easily now?  
Sov eventually sighs in defeat.  
“Fine, just this once. I hope they realize we’re even after this.”  
Dae offers a gentle smile and then follows Sov as they move around the wall, unsheathing her swords.

It can certainly be said that this Flame Legion warband was not ready for reinforcements to arrive, which is easily spotted when a few of them peer in shock at one of their shamans groaning in pain when he falls to the ground, injured by two arrows shot into his throat with precision. They’re forced to alter their defenses to meet this new threat.  
While they prepare themselves for more arrows, they are instead presented with an enraged norn wielding a large greatsword, swinging it around and slicing open large wounds on the two closest attackers. Katla is not just a very strong fighter, but a quick-thinker too, able to alter her tactics on the field. Together with her Guardian spells, she becomes a very deadly opponent, which the Flame Legion become aware of when she changes her assault to stab one of her magical symbols on the ground. Three more charr fall soon after.

When the sisters take one side to flank, Dae realizes it might be advantageous to attempt another angle. The Flame Legion are struck hard yet again, when a rain of sharp rocks shoots down upon them, piercing some of their lighter armors and finding gaps in the heavier ones. At that same time, Dae engages the enemy head-on, spinning her blades right in between their ranks. What she doesn’t have in strength, she makes up for in accuracy and quantity. She can strike many more times than Katla, crippling some of her enemies. And naturally, the Flame Legion were not prepared to face another magical opponent. Sov’s spells remind them all too much of their own shamans.

While there isn’t much that remains of the other Legion's warband, one of them is still alive and able to continue the fight. He had taken cover until seeing the unknown force aiding him, and with renewed vigor, he lifts a rifle over his cover and launches several shots with it, blasting some of his foes.  
In glee and triumph, him and the others watch how the remaining members of the Flame warband decides it’s too much when their shamans have fallen, and retreat as quickly as they can. Katla almost considers giving chase, but figures that there’s no point. It’s not like she’s gonna care if these charr get back to their superiors about this.

Now that battle is finally over, they lower their weapons and turn their attention towards what remains of whomever they helped.  
While Grawdr stops and chews on one of the dead Flame legionnaires, Rea approaches the rifleman that helped them out.  
“Hello there! I hope we came in time.”

The friendly charr grits his fangs in pain, but nods as sharply as he can.  
“Y…yeah, you’ve got my thanks, strangers. If you hadn’t come, I’d have been scrap long ago.”

Once Rea comes close enough, she gets a better look at him. He’s wearing a mixture of mostly leather and a few pieces of chainmail. The fur in sight is striped in colors of black and red, and his gentle eyes are light grey, almost white, with a thin black pupil, similar to a cat. He’s got a set of four horns bending opposite ways around his head.  
Rea can also see a rather nasty wound at the lower end of his torso, along with a wound on his leg.  
“Damn, I think you need some help, friend.”

He waves dismissively at her, almost as an annoyance.  
“Forget about me, check the others!”

Rea hesitates for a moment, but seeing that the rest of his group appears to not have made it, she understands why he’d want to see if they can help anyone among them.  
Katla stays back, holding her sword over her shoulder and watches the area. Dae moves in to aid Rea, while Sov has folded her arms and refuses to help either way. Fighting was basically enough for her.

Rea’s search doesn’t go particularly well, as most of the remaining charr seems to have suffered from the brutal assault of the Flame Legion. That is until they reach one female charr at the far edge. At first, Rea believes that she has suffered the same fate as the rest, but then she hears the raspy breathing. It’s faint and doesn’t sound particularly good, but it’s clear that she’s still alive. Now to somehow preserve her.  
The norn throws a glance over her shoulder to Sov.  
“Sovi! We’ve got someone alive here, can you help?”

Sov turns to face her, sending Rea a frown, but hesitates and peers down. The charr with the rifle gazes between them as he tries to push himself up against his ruined cover.  
“What’s going on? Did you find someone? Can you help?”

“I can’t, but Sovica can…I think. Sovi?”

He peers over at Sov then and at a closer inspection, despite the blurring in his eyes, he notices the human features. Oh boy, that would explain her reluctance.  
“Hey…human. I know our peoples aren’t exactly friendly with each other, but can we put aside allegiances for a moment? If you can somehow help my friend, I beg of you to do so! I’ll owe you a great debt!”

Sov glances up from the ground then but doesn’t give him the look he had hoped. Instead, it is one of contempt and her voice drips with the same emotion.  
“I want _nothing_ from you.”

“I…please! They’re my friends, m-my family!”

She continues to glare at him and his pleading doesn’t do anything to aid him either. She wants to fire back insults, but doesn’t quite know where to start.  
Before she has a chance to, Dae stands up and walks towards her.  
“Sovica, this charr here is badly injured. She…she can barely breathe and she’s bleeding everywhere. Your magic can do something to help her, can’t it?”

That voice does some to help soothe Sov’s mind, as much as she dislikes it.  
“…maybe.”

“Then _please_ , help her. If not for them, then do it for me?”

The pleading from Dae does a whole lot more to convince Sov and despite that she’d rather turn and leave, her mind convinces itself to gaze right into Dae’s eyes. That finally defeats her, as few sights can be so convincing. Why did she have to fall in love so hopelessly?  
She sighs even deeper than previously and strides forward.  
“…fine.”

The rifleman looks at least somewhat relieved, knowing that it is now possible one from his warband might survive.  
“Thank…thank you, huma-“

“It’s Sovica, and please, shut your mouth.”  
He does just that at her sharp tone, and Sov walks with Dae towards the fallen charr next to Rea.  
The sight doesn’t bring a lot of hope either, as her wounds are severe, perhaps even beyond healing. Then again, Sov has heard that a fierce application of water spells has been able to save people thought to be dead.  
“I cannot promise that my magic will aid her, but I shall try.”

Rea stands back to give Sov some space and nods.  
“Do your best, that’s all we ask.”

The charr woman’s eyes are half closed and distant, not peering at any of them. Sov believes that she can likely hear them, but it’s uncertain if she can comprehend all of it.  
Sov sits down and whispers just barely enough for anyone else to perceive any words.  
“Dwayna, hear me. I plead for you to grant me the gift of life from the skies and aid me in healing this broken soul. She is suffering, and I need your warmth to soothe her pain.”

She moves some of her cloak to the side, revealing a bottle of water which hangs from a short rope by her belt. Lifting up the cork stopper, she moves her hands above its opening and a bit of water magically soars out from it and follows Sov’s directions. She guides it down towards the wounded charr and then stretches it out to cover as much ground as possible. When it finally touches the charr’s fur and skin, it begins to glow, something which increases in intensity a few seconds later.

A minute or so passes by, as Sov does all she can to aid her patient and when she is finally done, the water returns to the bottle, but a smaller amount than what left it. She pushes the cork back on the top of the bottle and leaves it on her belt. Rea and Dae can hear Sov panting when the procedure is over, but the charr’s breathing is steadier as well.  
Rea smiles gently at her human friend.  
“You did it!”

Sov struggles past her exhaustion and nods briefly. She forgot how tiring healing can be, as it requires far more of her concentration.  
“I managed to close most of her wounds, but it is still rather shallow. We need to bandage her, just in case.”

“On it.”

While Rea does that, Dae smiles and approaches the other charr.  
“It seems like your friend is going to make it!”

He leans his head back against the wall, grinning faintly and feels how some of the tension in his body is being released.  
“Ah, thank you. That is good to hear. I thought I’d lose them all after that disaster.”

“Well, lucky for you, we’ve got one of the best magic wielders around. I’m Daeynwe, by the way.”

He inclines his head and twitches as he feels how his body still aches.  
“Razok. Razok Cogfang.”

“Nice to meet you, Razok. What Legion are you with?”

“Oh, the Ash Legion. We were out here on a scouting assignment, but we thought we’d be checking out the ghosts’ movements, not fighting those Flame assholes.”

“Ash, huh? For being spies, you were doing a pretty poor job of staying undetected.”  
They both quiet down when Sov approaches them. She gives him a particularly fierce glare once more and folds her arms.

Raz knows it’s kind of an insult, but he merely shrugs.  
“Yeah, I guess, but if we knew Flame were in the area, we would’ve made different preparations.”

“I think most military leaders would say that you should prepare yourself for any situation.”

He snorts and lowers his eyes.  
“You sound like my mother.”

Sov eventually leans down by his side and gets her water bottle up again.  
“She must be a smart woman then. Now, be still and quiet, or else this will hurt.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Yep, now we've gotten to the fifth member of this story. The next few chapters will have some story partially focusing on him._


	13. Questioning thorns

_1323 AE – Plains of Ashford, Ascalon_

After wandering through the entrance in the remnants of the wall, the group has now arrived in an area which Razok called the ‘Plains of Ashford’. The latter name is very familiar to the group’s historically enthusiastic human, but with the company of a charr, her mood has somewhat soured and therefore has not wished to indulge in any storytelling.  
Raz informed them that the Iron Legion city known as the Black Citadel is located to the west and much of this area is inhabited by the type of ghostly figures they’ve heard of. So far, they have yet to encounter any, but Raz has also made sure to help them avoid such creatures.

The destination they’ve now set out for is an Ash legion encampment supposed to be located no more than two or three days to the south, which Raz and his only other surviving team member, a relatively quiet woman called Tuccia, have to report back to. Despite some protests from Sovica, the group has agreed to help escort the charr duo there. It is uncertain whether the Legion will compensate them for this, but Rea still considers it the most decent thing to do and there has been no argument against this claim at least.

As evening arrives, the group has settled down into their own camp not too far from a small gathering of ruins. There are many such remnants here and Raz has confirmed their previous suspicions that the main reason the charr do nothing about them is the ghosts’ presence. They’re a nuisance and with conflict on many different fronts, the High Legions don’t really have time to reassign lots of soldiers on demolition of this magnitude.

While the sisters sit and speak with the two charr, Sov has currently separated herself from the others, mostly in protest of having to be around such people. She thought about trying to claim that the charr should not be allowed to sit in their vicinity, but figured that she is probably the only one being uncomfortable, so she decided to go her own way.  
She is not left alone for long, however. While she has made her own small fire with the use of magic and reads one of her books for entertainment, footsteps can be heard from behind. There’s no need to guess who is approaching either.  
“If you’re wondering, I’m doing just fine here. I don’t need anything.”

A bit of uncertainty flashes across Daeynwe’s features at first, but it doesn’t discourage her completely.  
“I know, that’s not why I came here. I want to talk.”

Of course she does.  
“What about?”

“About the fact that you’ve chosen to sit so far away from the rest of us. You’re in this team as well, you know.”

Sov sighs, shaking her head and continues to keep her eyes on the book, but she has already stopped absorbing the words.  
“If you say so.”

It’s a rather cold tone she gives the sylvari and that doesn’t really help her situation much. Dae takes a few steps closer, lowering her voice somewhat. This is for just the two of them.  
“Sovica, please tell me what’s wrong.”

Dae can see her expression now, despite that her face is angled downwards. A good amount of reluctance lingers as she hasn’t spoken of her concerns out loud yet.  
“I don’t…want to sit with them.”

“Who?”

“Who do you think? The charr.”

She was afraid that would be the case, but needs to poke further. She moves, and despite some rather obvious signs that company isn’t all too welcome, she takes her place on Sov’s side.  
“And why not?”  
No response, as Sov continues to focus on the book in her hands, an intensifying scowl adorning her features.  
“Is this about the past again?”

Finally giving Dae some of her attention, Sov lowers the book and faces her companion.  
“No, it is not. Dae, the conflict between us didn’t end when the human nation of Ascalon was defeated. The charr continues to wage war against my people and have done so for generations.”

For a moment, Dae appears somewhat confused. That is such a long time for hatred.  
“But…how? Isn’t there an enormous mountain range between you? Do they go across the Shiverpeaks to fight you as well?”

Sov thinks to shake her head in denial first, but part of that is true.  
“Well, in the past they did, yes, but not so much anymore.”

“Then surely there isn’t a war between you either.”

“Yes, there is. Just because the nation is gone, that doesn’t mean humans are completely.”  
Her gaze falls to the fire burning in front of them, eyes going distant.  
“There is a fortress to the south east known as Ebonhawke. After the catastrophe with the Searing, that fortress was seen as one of the few places where humans could still defend themselves. While the war was lost elsewhere, Ebonhawke has stood as the last remnant of human civilization in Ascalon and it has been besieged ever since.”

Dae widens her eyes, and as she obviously knows very little of human society and even less of Ascalon, she hasn’t heard of that area.  
“So, there’s one human place left in all of Ascalon? Haven’t they been…cut off from the rest of you then?”

She receives a curt and contemplative nod from Sov.  
“For the most part, yes. There was an asura gate established between the fortress and Divinity’s Reach long ago, but it has been unstable for quite a while. It wasn’t until a few years ago that they managed to get it mostly fixed again.”

There is an obvious risk there, if the charr somehow manage to take the fortress, but perhaps that is not as important as being connected to the rest of humanity.  
Dae hopes to push another angle though.  
“Well, I…I understand this must be difficult for you then, but I have spoken to Razok. He seems like a good fellow to me.”

Derision appears on Sov’s expression again as she shakes her head.  
“I don’t care. He might be nice now while we’ve helped him out, but as soon as he’s back on his feet I’m sure he’ll return to slaughtering my people.”

“You can’t know that. Neither of us can for sure, Sovica. From what he’s told me, the Ash legion has other concerns.”

Sov locks her eyes with the sylvari again.  
“Other concerns? Dae, there are no other concerns for charr. They live, breathe and feed on war. That’s all they are.”

She can’t help but feel somewhat guilty when seeing such a saddened look in Dae’s eyes.  
“Darling, please…you shouldn’t need to feel this way. Living with all this hatred inside of you, it…it will do nothing good for you.”

Sov falters and softens slightly when Dae’s hand is placed upon hers. She relents and turns it around to entwine their fingers.  
“I…I know you’re right, but I can’t help it. Maybe it’s impossible to truly understand, but our history is filled with conflict. My people have suffered defeat and catastrophes for generations, and especially for those of us with ancestors from Ascalon, it is difficult to…accept the charr when they’ve done so much harm to us.”

Dae brightens at the decreased hostility and attempts to reach out further. She slides closer and they are soon right next to each other.  
“Then the obvious solution is that one of you has to change. Someone has to look upon it from a different perspective and realize that peace may be the only road to prosperity for both.”

The contempt which floated to the surface is now slowly being pushed back down again, making Sov appear uncertain instead.  
“Maybe. I’m not sure it’s so easy, however.”

“No one said it would be.”

Dae gently pulls her hand away and lets that arm wrap around Sov’s waist instead. The second hand comes in to replace the first, once more caressing her companion. At the same time, Dae tilts her head down and places her lips very gently at Sov’s neck, giving it soft and affectionate kisses. It surprises the sorceress, but excites her as well. Her eyes close in response and it isn’t long until a smile adorns her lips once more. Since when did the sylvari get so good at kissing?  
She doesn’t catch herself until a brief moan leaves her lips and she tilts her head away to glare at Dae. She’s unable to remove the smile, however.  
“You’re trying to distract me.”

Dae lips curl up in a similar fashion, remaining as close as ever. Their noses are no more than a few centimeters apart and Sov feels mesmerized by those beautiful amber eyes.  
“I simply want to see you smile, that’s all. There’s no sight which makes me happier.”

“Tsk…you’re too charming for your own good.”

“Only because you like it.”

The uncertainty and anger are quickly being replaced by desire, and with a smirk, Sov makes the next move. Dae doesn’t have much time to react as Sov rises from her seat and swiftly places one leg on each side of her companion’s lap, virtually straddling her. At the same time, she wraps arms around Dae’s neck and nudges their foreheads together.  
“You’re lucky that I do.”

“Erm, does this mean that we won’t be joining the others?”

“What do you think?”  
Their lips collide, harder and far more passionately than before, making them disappear from the view of the others as Dae leans down against the grass below. During the remainder of the evening, giggles and desperate gasps are the only sounds the rest can hear from this direction.


	14. Snarl and Cog

_1323 AE – Ash Legion camp in the Plains of Ashford, Ascalon_

The journey towards the Ash Legion encampment is reasonably uneventful. Razok and Tuccia manages to warn them away from the most dangerous parts of the plains, although the latter does most of this. It appears she has more talent for spotting dangers than her companion.  
Razok himself carries around a lot of gear, from guns and portable turrets to different supply packs and smaller devices. At one point, he even proudly declares that he has crafted the main rifle as well as the turret he uses, by himself. While Sovica merely snorts when hearing this statement, Rea and Daeynwe show some interest for such a skill.  
Tuccia is still so injured that she can’t walk on her own and has to be dragged around in a wheelbarrow, but she has enough lucidity to at least criticize some of Raz’s creations as not being perfect.

The Ash camp is located within the midst of a small forest close to a lake, relatively hidden from the surroundings. Before they enter, Raz emits a few specific growls which somewhat imitate some kind of beast and gains some in return, being shown as a sign that they can continue.  
There’s all sorts of tents, tables, traps and defenses set up around the area, as well as guards both in the trees and hidden on the ground. At least three dozen charr are gathered here, none of them wearing particularly heavy armor. Whatever they’re doing here, it seems to be important.

Raz himself looks a bit surprised to see so many people at this time, but a very specific sight makes him freeze up and swallow in fear.  
“Shit.”

Rea glances at him and then around the camp.  
“What is it?”

“Uh, just…something I hadn’t anticipated.”  
Before they manage to ask much further, a charr separates herself from the rest of her peers and approaches the group. She looks older than most of the others, more so than Raz at least, with her somewhat shaggy black and red fur, which also appears to have been burnt in some places far in the past. She’s got two fairly big horns, but one of them has been cut off in the middle and the eye on the same side is closed with a scar right across it. Other Legionnaires give her a lot of space and Raz looks like if he wishes he was somewhere else right now.  
“Tribune Centra, I…I did not expect to see you here.”

He gains a short growl in response, making him lower his head and ears. She’s quite small in comparison to him, but that seems to mean very little.  
She surveys him quickly and then frowns deeply.  
“What the hell is all this?! Broken leg, injured arm and torso; and where is the rest of your squad?!”

Centra gives Tuccia a look in her wheelbarrow, but says nothing to her. Tuccia remains quiet as well.  
Raz clears his throat while the rest of the group seem surprised.  
“They were, uh…they were lost, ma’am.”

“Lost?! You lost your entire squad and almost yourself in the process? Explain yourself, soldier!”

She isn’t keeping this conversation private either, speaking in a loud tone. Raz’s eyes are lowered in shame.  
“Yes, Tribune. Our Legionnaire led us to the appropriate location that we were meant to scout, but things went…awry. We were ambushed by a warband from the Flame Legion. They outnumbered and outgunned us, along with taking us by surprise.”

Centra glares at him for several seconds in silence and some of the other charr are looking their way, but all of them remain silent.  
Suddenly, she bursts out into a laughter that echo through the forest, but it is far from joyful. It stings with a mocking tone as she slaps her own leg at the thought. Its false nature is revealed very quickly as she becomes dead serious a second later.  
She takes several steps closer and pushes her head upwards in his vicinity. Her tone now baleful and sharp.  
“Soldier, do you mind explaining to me how an Ash Legion warband could _possibly_ be ambushed by a group from the Flame Legion?”

“I-“

“Is it not true that you are all trained extensively how to cloak and hide yourselves within your surroundings and be like shadows upon our enemies?”

“…ye-“

“And you are telling me, with all that _fucking_ training and with the home field advantage, your warband somehow managed to get, not only ambushed, but almost completely wiped out by the Flame Legion?!”

Her voice rises with each word and to some it seems as if Raz almost shrinks every time. He does remain standing where he is, however.  
“Y-yes…yes, ma’am, that is correct.”

She growls at him again, clenching her fist and everyone else aren’t quite sure what she intends to do, but Rea has had enough.  
“Hey, there’s no need to grind his face into the dirt! He already knows what happened and what they did wrong. All of his friends paid the price already, and they don’t need you sullying their memory.”

Centra’s attention quickly shifts towards the ranger instead, snapping her fingers and pointing a claw in her direction.  
“Nobody asked for your _fucking_ opinion, norn! This is _Ash Legion_ business and if you’re not in the Ash Legion, I suggest you _SHUT UP!”_  
While Rea clenches her fists as well, looking ready for a fight, she knows that she is sorely outnumbered here and has to hold back.  
Centra is about to return to Raz when she notices Sov standing in the middle of the group. The charr narrows her eye suspiciously.  
“And what the hell is a human doing here, in my camp?”

To her credit, Sov doesn’t appear as intimidated as she may feel and folds her arms while frowning. However, the accusatory tone seems to ignite some kind of protective instinct in her even taller companion and Katla moves to step in between the two. She too crosses her arms while gazing down upon the shorter charr, speaking in a stern tone.  
“She is with us.”

Centra displays a similar gesture and snorts briefly.  
“Then you better explain who you are, norn.”

“We are a group of travelers from the west. I am Katla and this is my sister, Rea.”  
She gestures at Rea and then also indicates the others.  
“This is Sovica and Daeynwe, two more of our companions. We mean no trouble, unless it's asked for.”

“I hope you realize that human spies within our borders are arrested on sight.”

“We are not spies. She may be human, but the rest of us aren’t and we have no interest in whatever conflict you have with the human nation. We are merely travelers.”

Rea shakes her head slightly.  
“And if humans wanted to deliver messages between each other, I’m sure they could think of a smarter way than walking straight across charr lands.”

Centra turns back towards Sov once more and while she seems suspicious still, there is a layer of acknowledgement. She knows how unlikely it would be.  
“Fine, I don’t really care anyway.”  
She waves at them dismissively before pointing at Raz.  
“You will come with me, soldier. I want a proper report on this incident. Perhaps you can be of some use at least to explain the Flame Legion’s presence this far south.”  
A moment later, she nods at a few other within the camp.  
“And someone take care of the fool in the wheelbarrow. I want an assessment of her injuries within the hour.”  


* * *

  
It takes about an hour or so until the rest of the group sees Razok again, when he finally approaches them once more after his conversation with the Tribune. They remain as guests, for now, because of the aid they gave the Ash Legion. They’ve heard that Centra may wish to speak to them later as well.  
Raz looks somewhat sullen when he arrives and nods shortly.  
“Things are well with Tuccia if you’re wondering, but our warband will have to do a lot of restructuring and possibly some recruiting, unless we want to be absorbed into another.”

Whether that’s good or not, they can’t tell, but there’s another issue that lingers, something which Dae points out.  
“That woman, she was…rather unfair to you.”

He shrugs, either not fussed or resigned to his fate.  
“It’s her right as a Tribune to do so. Besides, we did really screw up.”

Dae tilts her head inquisitively.  
“What is a Tribune anyway?”

He had been supporting himself with a branch for most of the time, but has now been given an iron pipe which has less chance of breaking. At this moment, he sits down on the ground with them, however.  
“It’s one of the highest ranks in any Legion, second only to the Imperator. There’s usually less than a dozen Tribunes in any Legion and most of them are assigned to separate fronts as commanders.”

“And this one here, is she assigned to this area?”

Raz shakes his head slightly.  
“No, she…she is supposed to command further south, as far as I’m aware. Didn’t really feel the need to tell me why she’s come here, but most superiors rarely do. At least not to mere grunts like me.”

Katla glances over towards the main tent where they know that she is located.  
“What did you say her name was?”

“I guess I didn’t mention all of it earlier, but uh, her name is Tribune Centra Grimsnarl.”  
He scowls for a moment, hesitating before he adds something more in a grim tone.  
“And she…she’s my mother.”

This news brings out surprised expressions from all members of the team, even Sovica. Rea appears virtually upset by it.  
“What? How can she be your mother? You came back injured, close to death, and she treated you like dirt.”

Razok sighs and then gives her a bitter smile.  
“Welcome to the Legions.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _I used the word "hell" in this chapter even though it doesn't exist as a concept in Tyria. It does appear as an adjective or curse occasionally in-game, however, so I figured it could work._


	15. Unpredictable solutions

_1323 AE – Ash Legion camp in the Plains of Ashford, Ascalon_

The task of bringing Razok to the camp has been done, but for the time being, the team has decided to stick around for at least another day or two. For whatever reason, the Tribune has not yet approached them regarding the subject she had in mind. They could just leave anyway, but they do not want to possibly antagonize one of the High Legions, on top of the fact that they may also be rewarded for their efforts. Both of these are good reasons to stay a little while longer at least.

While they’ve been allowed to make their own small camp not too far from the Ash Legion one, Katla has taken it upon her to scout the area a bit. They could just ask the charr, but Katla apparently trusts her own instincts more. Daeynwe volunteered to join her.  
Currently, that leaves Rea and Sovica alone in the camp, except for the slumbering Grawdr. Sovica is a little reluctant at first regarding this prospect, knowing how they’ve not exactly gotten along very well since they met with Razok, but the few weeks prior to that the norn had been a very pleasant travelling companion. There’s no need to disrupt their relationship.

There are certain issues she’s wondering about and that she thinks to address now.  
“Hey, Rea.”

“Hmm?”  
The ranger herself is sitting by a bag, looking through her arrow supplies and makes sure there’s none that stands out as being particularly damaged or unusable.

“Is Katla usually very protective of her friends?”

Rea peers up with interest as she works and gains a small smile across her lips.  
“Sort of, yes. Although, I guess she doesn’t really have a lot of friends.”

“No? Just you?”

“Well, there are a few more, but for the most part, she doesn’t spend a lot of time with other people.”

“She does seem to be kind of the…loner type.”

Rea tilts her head, considering this notion.  
“That’s true, but saying that wouldn’t tell the whole story.”  
She notices how Sov gives her a curious look and figures that she should elaborate.  
“You know how we told you that we’re looking for the Branded?”

Sov nods briefly.  
“From what you said, that’s the reason you wished to come here.”

“Mm, it is, but it’s not entirely out of curiosity or a simple concern for the world’s well-being or whatever.”  
She sighs slightly.  
“I was the one who suggested to Katla that we come here and look for them. I want to give her a…new target, so to speak.”

“Target?”

“Yes. My sister, she…she keeps this rage boiling inside of her and most of it is directed at the Icebrood. I’m afraid what it will do to her if it is allowed to continue building up.”

Sov seems thoughtful for a moment, thinking back to things they’d talked about in the past.  
“Does it have anything to do with the destruction of your home? I recall you mentioning something like that.”

Rea nods.  
“I’m surprised you still remember it, but yes. Jormag’s minions destroyed it when we were still young, along with our parents.”

Sov’s shoulders slumps at the thought of it, feeling a sadness seeping in.  
“I…I’m sorry to hear that. You have my condolences.”

“It was a long time ago now, but Katla has a very enduring memory. On top of this, they also killed our mentors several years later – Birger and Hulda. They…were like our foster parents.”

Sov shakes her head.  
“You two have gone through so much…no wonder she’s so filled with vengeance.”

Rea appears distant while her eyes focus on the weapon that she attempts to fix.  
“Birger had hoped that Katla’s wish to become stronger could be directed at protecting people instead. It worked for a while. But, well…then they killed him too.”  
She sighs deeper this time.  
“Fighting the Icebrood has become personal for her at this point and I’m afraid what it will do to her. With how fiercely she absorbs it, there’s always the possibility that it will consume her, and I cannot lose her as well.”

Sov has a lot of understanding for that prospect and she has noticed how close the two sisters are. It’s likely that losing Katla would be much worse than anything else. There are still questions which linger, though.  
“I don’t mean to pry, but…how come these events have not affected you in the same way? You don’t seem as absorbed by it as she is.”

There is some hesitation at first, as Rea contemplates how she should respond or whether she should keep it in. There has been enough said already, after all. Then again, what is the point of hiding it?  
“Compared to Katla, I…I did not actually witness their deaths.”

“Your parents?”

She nods curtly.  
“I was asleep when it happened, resting inside our room. I was much more of a heavy sleeper in my youth and…well, I suppose it was a mercy at the time.”  
She stops working for a while as memories begin to stir in her mind.  
“It was Katla who woke me up in the middle of the night. Told me to be quiet and to follow her. The panic and seriousness in her eyes made me do exactly what she said. Without her, they would’ve likely killed me as well.”

Sov begins glancing around the area, trying to see if she can locate Katla and Dae, but they seem to be obscured at the moment.  
“Did she ever speak about what she saw?”

“Not in detail and I have never demanded it of her.”  
She raises her hands to correct her hair a bit, fiddling with it somewhat.  
“Don’t get me wrong, I hate them too and I want to see them be annihilated, but this thought is not consuming me. That is why she and I deal with this differently. For the most part, I try to indulge her violent tendencies, but I think it's healthier to not always fixate on the same foe.  
This is why facing the Branded can be a good thing, at least in my mind. They have not done anything to her personally so, perhaps it can relinquish some of her rage and begin some kind of healing process. Of course, it’s just speculation right now.”

The logic is not unreasonable per se, as Katla does seem to relish a good fight. Then again, does that have to be the only activity she lives through?  
“Have you ever considered trying something else? Like, something non-violent.”

Rea gazes at her and arches an eyebrow.  
“Like what?”

“Well, there are several types of things I could suggest. For example, does Rea have any…erm, you know, partners?”

This seems to surprise the younger Svalen somewhat, but then she tilts her head curiously.  
“You mean lovers?”

“Or just close companions of any kind, really. Unless she’s not into that.”

Rea smirks faintly and shakes her head.  
“She has never been one for romance, no.”

“Not at all? She never spends time with anyone else?”

“Well, she does. She just tends to prefer…shorter encounters.”

Sov scratches her neck for a bit, not sure what to make of it. Had she expected Katla to be of that sort?  
“I…suppose that’s reasonable too. I just figured that perhaps finding someone for her to be with could work as a solution. You know her best, though.”

She thinks it over, trying to consider the merit of the idea. With a slight snort, she picks up the arrows and continues her work.  
“I’ll keep it in mind.”

Would it be something that Katla would enjoy? She has never expressed interest in lasting companionship, even though she occasionally gets into bed with certain women.  
Of course, there is one story of Katla’s only romantic interest so far, but Rea chooses not to go any further into it. Best if it simply stays as a joke until Katla is ready to deal with it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Right so, I should mention something that I've also added to the initial chapter note._   
>  _I gave in and created some[profiles](http://creativebankruptcy.tumblr.com/gw2) for my characters. I'll update it more later on._   
>  _As you might guess by my descriptions of them, the pictures are not their exact appearances, but it's an approximation. They also don't wear those armors during the fic._


	16. Truthful pass

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _More Eir flashback stuff. I have a few chapters like this planned during this story._

_1308 AE – Eastern Wayfarer Foothills, Shiverpeak Mountains_

A sizeable rodent rushes through the thick snow on the landscape, avoiding a few rocks in the area and some nearby trees. Its heart pumps fiercely as it keeps up a high speed, doing its best to escape the pursuers. Whether it feels there’s any hope to do so is both uncertain and irrelevant. All it knows is that it needs to succeed. It passes over a hill, beneath some bushes and then attempts to approach the mountain range in the vicinity, as it may provide shelter. From its previous experiences, there are areas and places to hide here, and to keep dangers at bay.

This is as far as it manages to plan ahead, however, as a wooden and iron creation comes flying out of nowhere, piercing its hide in high velocity. All it manages to do is emit a pained squeal before it tumbles to the ground.  
Further back, there’s a triumphant cheer as the young red-haired norn throws her fist into the air.  
“Hah! I win!”

Eir was just a few seconds away from firing her own arrow, but that doesn’t mean she lost completely. She was deliberately trying to give her younger companion a little bit of time to act and she is rather happy that Rea was able to seize it.  
“It seems you did. A rather impressive shot as well, both in range and precision.”

Rea shines up into a confident grin and places her hands at her hips, the bow still in one hand.  
“I know, right? Told you I was good at this!”

Eir smiles in return and shakes her head slightly.  
“Don’t get too confident though. That was just a hare. Of course, the ones in this area are some of the quickest in the mountains, but there are far more difficult prey around here.”

“Tsk, let them come. I’ll take down anything that nature wants to throw at me. Wolves, bears, Sons of Svanir – anything!”

With a short laugh, Eir walks over and gently pats the younger norn’s shoulder.  
“I look forward to seeing it someday.”  
She gestures for them to move and they approach their downed prey while holstering their weapons.  
“You know, I bet my father would’ve said that you remind him of Hulda.”

She gets a fascinated glance from Rea, who smiles with interest.  
“You think so?”

“Yep. He used to tell me that she was very quick, eager and confident when she was younger. They were of a similar age too.”

“Well, she’s a good teacher and person. I don’t mind saying that she has taught me a lot.”

Eir looks rather glad to hear it, but another set of thoughts prods her as well.  
“It is unfortunate that Katla couldn’t join us. Birger told me that she trains rather vigorously, so I’m a bit disappointed that I don’t get to see her use those skills.”

The mood deteriorates momentarily as Rea raises a hand to scratch at her neck somewhat uncertainly.  
“Eh, well, I think she just had a lot to do today. Birger is kinda demanding, so she’s often quite busy.”

They reach the hare on the ground, seeing its lifeless body with the arrow stuck through it. There’s some blood on the ground as well, of course, but mostly they focus on making sure that they can lift their prey away without difficulties. The ones in this region are somewhat larger than most in the Shiverpeaks.  
“I’m not so sure if that’s the case. I get the feeling that she tends to avoid me.”

“Why would you say that?”

Garm approaches them as well, moving close as if to get his own sniff of the animal, but Eir motions for him to back away and lets Rea take care of carrying it.  
“She just seems to be rather...evasive. She’s usually busy, doesn’t often come to greet me and she talks so concisely. I’m not even sure she has ever looked me in the eye. Not since our first meeting anyhow.”  
She sighs and faces Rea.  
“You don’t think she dislikes me, do you?”

Rea is coming to realize that this might develop into a less than stellar situation and while she knows why her sister acts this way, it’s probably not what Katla would’ve wanted. Rea needs to do something.  
“Erm…how often do you speak?”

“Not too often. Whenever I’ve come to visit you all, I’ve given it a try. Since she seems to stay by herself, I have to approach her instead. We almost only speak of her training too, and even that is not in great detail.”

It’s a bit silly that Katla would act that way, but Rea doesn’t blame her. Well, she does blame her for being bad at communicating, but she can understand it when the whole issue regards Eir. There is something specifically difficult with Stegalkin.  
Rea sighs, corrects her hair and takes some of the snow off it.  
“I probably shouldn’t be talking to you about this, but…I doubt she intended for you to get that impression, so I might as well explain. She doesn’t dislike you – it’s quite the opposite, in fact.”

Eir gazes at her skeptically while folding her arms. The two women have already begun moving back to their campsite.  
“She has an odd way of showing it. I tend to prefer speaking with my friends.”

Rea clears her throat, looking somewhat awkward at the same time.  
“I’m not saying that she just likes you. She _really_ likes you.”

It takes a moment for Eir to absorb her words and she stays silent until her eyes blinks in confusion.  
“Wait, are you suggesting…?”

“I’m talking about attraction, yes.”

It has only been about a year or so since Eir first came up here to reunite with Hulda and Birger, as well as pursue hunts and interesting endeavors in the area. Meeting and befriending the young Svalen sisters was not within her plans, but they have become a reason for her to return every now and then. It feels good to speak with them, especially Rea, as well as seeing them grow. She hopes it’s a good sign of what her own future might bring.  
This development wasn’t quite within her expectations, however.  
“Rea…surely you’re being silly now. There’s no way that Katla feels that way for me.”

The young ranger frowns somewhat in response.  
“And why not?”

“Well, she’s very young and curious. You two are still growing and haven’t quite found yourselves yet.”

Rea sighs and rolls her eyes.  
“We’re not children, Eir. Maybe we’re still growing, but that doesn’t mean we don’t understand our feelings. And I certainly know my sister and how she acts. She likes you, I have no doubt about it.”

“But how can you be so sure? Has she told you this?”

“She doesn’t need to. The way she looks at you, the way she talks about you and how she reacts when we mention you’ll be coming around, it's all unique. And let’s not forget that she has actually _blushed_ in your presence. You know who she does that for? No one.”

Eir folds her arms, looking even more uncertain than before.  
“That…that doesn’t mean anything, Rea. She may have just been surprised to see me.”

“Pff, yeah right. So surprised that she was unable to speak? I’m right, Eir, I know I am.  
Why are you fighting this anyway? Is it so odd that my sister might be in love with you?”

She opens her mouth to respond, but then shuts it instead and glances in Rea’s direction before exhaling softly.  
“No, of course it isn’t. I understand why she may have such feelings, but…I don’t know. I suppose I don’t look upon either of you that way. I regard you as sisters rather than anything else.”

“Well, Katla clearly doesn’t feel the same.”

They begin to wander towards the west, taking in the wind that brushes past them. They’re at least a day or two away from Hulda and Birger’s homestead. Eir’s eyes drift towards that direction, even as she cannot quite spot it from here.  
“Why has she never approached me about this directly? It might’ve made things a lot less difficult.”

“Uh, don’t be so sure of that. Besides, Katla isn’t that kind of person. She isn’t good with explaining her emotions. She’s just kind of…awkward, you know. I still love her, though.”

“Perhaps, but I already have a companion and even without him, I’m not sure I could ever return that kind of affection for Katla.”

Rea grows quiet for a while, having sensed the truth quite a while ago.  
“Mm, I figured this would be the case. And hey, you shouldn’t feel bad about it. I just wanted you to know why Katla may be avoiding you. There’s no dislike for you whatsoever.”  
Though, it is possible that Eir now wishes there was. Rea exhales once more and shakes her head.  
“Anyway, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t mention any of this to Katla. She’ll be very angry if she finds out that I spoke for her.”

“Oh, of course. I think I agree that it’s best if we keep this between the two of us. And thank you for telling me as well.”

Rea nods and then gives her a faint smile.  
“Also, please don’t talk about this lover of yours with her. I don’t know how she’d react, whether it will break her heart or just make her angry.”

It saddens Stegalkin somewhat, to think that she can’t speak of private matters with Katla. Hopefully, that will change at some point. She is still young, after all.  
“Agreed. Maybe one day, she will find a partner of her own.”


	17. Field escort

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _I keep changing the days that I can or want to release chapters for this story. Anyway, for a while now it'll be on Tuesdays and hopefully I'll stick to that schedule._

_1323 AE – Outside the Ash Legion camp in the Plains of Ashford, Ascalon_

The business of speaking with the Ash Legion is finally over. Rea and Katla were the ones who answered most of the questions that Tribune Grimsnarl had for them regarding their own account of the events to the north. Although, it was not like Sovica got to escape interrogation, but the charr tried to be lenient as they weren’t really suspecting her all too much. She tried to be truthful for the most part. Leaving out her true identity doesn’t really harm anyone, right?  
The Tribune has also seen fit to pay them for actually protecting and returning an Ash Legion warband, as well as giving them information regarding the Flame Legion. Not crucial knowledge, but it appears that Centra values anything new regarding their foe.

Early on the next day, the team has gathered the materials of the camp up and packed their gear as they prepare to leave. That’s when Rea spots movement from the charr and how two figures approach – the Tribune wanders towards them with Razok in tow. She walks with purpose, meaning that they’re likely not done quite yet.  
“Hold up a moment. I’d like to speak with you.”

Sovica mutters to herself.  
“Hasn’t she done that enough already? I thought she’d never stop talking…”  
Dae is the only one who overhears, but doesn’t do much else than smile at her partner.

Katla is the one who greets her, as Rea has shown continuous signs of not liking Centra very much. The treatment of Razok appears to be the primary reason.  
“What can we do for you, Tribune?”

“Are you heading for the Fields of Ruin?”

For a second or two, Katla merely stares at her before she glances back at Rea and Sovica. Both of them just shrugs in response.  
“Uh, maybe? We don’t really know much of the names that your people have given the regions here.”

“Very well, then are you heading towards the southeast?”

Sov folds her arms and then gives her a curt nod.  
“Yes, that’s right.”

“That area is what the High Legions have chosen to call the ‘Fields of Ruin’. For generations now, it’s where most of the fighting has taken place against humans.”  
Her one eye drifts towards Sov.  
“I assume you know of Ebonhawke Fortress.”

Sov's frown deepens somewhat, but she tries not to sound all too hostile. A rather difficult task.  
“Yeah, it’s a familiar name.”

Rea arches an eyebrow.  
“Ebonhawke?”

“It’s the human’s last bastion in Ascalon", Centra continues. "They’ve managed to defend it for generations against continuous onslaughts. My people named the area after the destruction that’s been done because of their tenacity. A way to show respect, I suppose.”  
Sov shakes her head and doesn’t seem particularly impressed.  
“I don’t know why you’re going there and frankly, I don’t care. I have a request, though – I’d like you to take Razok here with you.”

This comes as quite a surprise to all of them. Not that Centra hasn't been very blunt so far, but this just takes it to another level.  
Katla glances at the man who has already equipped himself with all of his stuff, it seems. He’s pretty much prepared to leave as well.  
“Why would we do that?”, asks Katla.

“I need to send a message to one of our outposts close to the front and Razok will be carrying it.”

“Can’t you just send another warband to do that instead?”

“I could, but unfortunately, any capable ones are not within the vicinity. And I tend not to trust Iron or Blood with important Ash missives, so Razok will have to do.”

Sounds like she’s not putting a lot of faith in him once more, but he doesn’t react to the comment.  
“Why do we need to bring him, though? Can’t you just hand the message to us so that we can deliver it for you?”

Centra snorts and waves dismissively at the notion.  
“You think I’ll trust a bunch of random travelers? You lack Legion discipline and there’s always the chance that you’ll read the information and sell it onwards.”

“Sounds quite paranoid to me. And besides, if we wanted to read it, we could just beat him up and take it from him. Say he died in an ambush.”

The older charr’s eye narrows and she takes several determined steps towards the much taller woman.  
“If you know anything about Ash Legion, you wouldn’t be making such a claim, norn. We would find out and then locate you; we always do and always will. You’d sincerely regret crossing us and me personally, I can assure you of that.”

Her tone is menacing and promises that the words in her threat are very much truthful. It’s enough to make Dae swallow somewhat audibly at least. Katla just slowly crosses her arms, though.  
“Then why trust us with this at all?”

Centra calms down somewhat and steps back again.  
“You think I should send him alone? That’s madness and suicide. No, he needs an escort and from what I’ve seen of you all so far, you’re capable and not a bunch of scoundrels. You’re of course free to prove me wrong on that count.  
Naturally, we will see fit to pay you. A couple of gold each – some now, and the rest when you arrive at your destination.”

Despite the tension between them, Katla shrugs nonchalantly when she’s done talking.  
“Works for me, but I’m not the only one in this crew.”

Rea gives Centra a slightly disapproving gaze, but her eyes soften when looking at Razok.  
“Well, it’s not like we’ve reached the maximum number for how many can join our little group so, I’m fine with it. Besides, I’m sure we’ll have lots of interesting things to talk about.”

Dae smiles and nods in agreement.  
“The more the merrier, I say! You’re very welcome to join us.”  
While Razok returns her expression, the three women slowly turn their gazes towards the only human and obviously the one with the most skeptical viewpoint of this entire endeavor.  
“As long as we’re all in on this, of course.”

Sov blinks and faces them in surprise. She hadn’t expected them to look to her for approval. It’s not like they cared about her protests of going to this camp to begin with, right?  
“Why are you looking at me?”

Rea places a hand at her own hip and tilts her head somewhat.  
“Everyone should be in agreement about this. We came here together, so we should make important decisions like this together. If you don’t want to, then we’ll decline.”

So, suddenly they force a voting system on her and while all eyes are trained on her as well. Perhaps this was part of some kind of scheme to make her look bad.  
Sov glances at Raz, surveying the charr and trying to determine his worth. He hasn’t shown all too much hostility on the trip here, nor whenever he has joined their camp for a chat. Not that Sov has spent much time around him, but he doesn’t seem as bad as she’s been led to believe regarding charr. Can’t hurt if it’s just one, right?  
“Alright then, I suppose we can do this. A few extra coins are never a bad thing.”

Centra nods sharply and digs her hand down into her coat.  
“Splendid, then we’re in agreement.”  
She pulls out a pouch and a scroll from a pocket within her clothes. She tosses the pouch of coins to Katla and hands the scroll to Raz.  
“This needs to reach Centurion Flamepaw. You know where you need to go, soldier. You won’t have your warband with you, so this is an unusual type of mission for one without the proper training, but I expect you to succeed regardless. Is that understood?”

He takes it and places it within the interior of his own clothes. There’s a look of uncertainty upon his features, like he’s not all too happy about being a simple messenger, but he’s not going to be that honest with a superior.  
“Yes, Tribune, it will be done.”

Before Centra leaves them, she lingers on her son and the two watch each other in silence. It almost seems as if she’s about to say something nice, but she then extends herself and points sharply at him.  
“Don’t screw this up.”

She’s off without another word, leaving Raz to sigh and then face his new companions.  
“Well uh, thanks for having me, I guess. I’ll do my best to aid you in whatever you need along the way. I’ve got a lot of nifty gadgets and trinkets, so, if we get into trouble I’m sure I can help you solve it somehow.”

Katla doesn’t say anything, but Rea smiles gently.  
“I have a feeling you’ll do just fine with us. What do you prefer that we call you? Soldier? Legionnaire?”

“Heh, I don’t have a rank like that just yet. I think Razok is fine, although some people prefer Raz and that works too.”

“Very well. Welcome to the team, Raz.”

Sov suddenly takes several steps forward, standing in between the rest of the group and the charr. She’s shorter than him, even when he’s somewhat hunched forward, but the determination in her eyes is more than enough to make him falter.  
“I want you to get one thing straight, charr – I’m here for reasons of studying humans that used to live in Ascalon. My ancestors came from these lands and I wish to locate where they once lived. I don’t want you trying to sabotage my work in completing this task.”

Raz arches a brow in surprise, as he wasn’t ready for her to be so direct.  
“Uh, okay. Well, I don’t really care what you intend to do and I doubt most of my people will. You’re free to look wherever, as long as it’s not in any Legion camp.  
I do know of quite a few ruins along the way, so if you prefer, I could possibly help you out in finding what you seek.”

An offer of aid? That’s not what she anticipated. She wonders momentarily if it’s a trap, but Raz doesn’t seem like the type of guy to deceive people. He’s not crafty enough for it.  
She sighs and lowers her arms.  
“Fine, I’ll consider it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _It's getting harder and harder to hold myself to that 1000 word limit that I spoke about in the start._


	18. Tools and ties

_1323 AE – Eastern Plains of Ashford, Ascalon_

The group’s journey has continued towards the northeast after leaving the Ash Legion behind. By Razok’s recommendation, they’ve decided to make their way through a part of the old broken human wall. Trying to pass through the mountains to the east is both unwise and near to impossible, unless they wish to do a lot of climbing. Naturally, most of them were not too keen on that, with Daeynwe being the exception.  
They have also been warned that the journey is not without its perils. The region to the north has been named the ‘Iron Marches’ for the Legion that rules it, but recently the Flame Legion has started making advances upon it. The charr were certain that the old rulers had become ineffective or perhaps even died out, but it appears they’re not that lucky.  
On top of this, they’ll also have to watch themselves during their inevitable journey over the Dragonbrand, where Kralkatorrik’s minions roam freely. Because of this, he has in return been informed of the Svalen sisters interest with that specific area. Raz would prefer to stay away from it, but will not protest their choice.

For the time being, they’ve settled down in a camp, not all too far from some old human ruins. Staying inside of them is not a good idea, as they’re now well aware of that ghosts are supposed to linger within, which has forced them to rest close to some hills instead, giving them a fairly good view of their surroundings.  
Just like the previous few days, Sovica and Dae rest on their own a bit away from the other three thanks to Sov’s persisting unease with Raz’s presence. Rea finds it rather silly, but has not complained to them directly.

While Katla prepares dinner for them above the campfire, Rea watches how the group’s charr is currently sitting with some metallic tools as he works with them on some kind of contraption. She doesn’t know much about engineering or mechanics, but that only makes it more fascinating.  
“Trying to create some new device?”

His light grey eyes shift to the side and he smiles at her. He feels most comfortable in hers and Dae’s company, as the two of them appear to be the friendliest.  
“Actually, I’m trying to repair something.”

“Oh. What is it?”

Raz smiles and holds it up, allowing her to take and examine it. For the most part, it just appears like a rectangular box. Not all too heavy, but pretty inconspicuous. Rea can see that it’s got a few dents and cracks in it, but otherwise looks sturdy.  
“It’s a thumper trap. Connect it to a pressure pad or tie it with some rope or string, and you can make an effective way to fight off ambushes.”

“Thumper?”

“Yeah, it thumps people. You know, like a good mechanical punch. With the strength and velocity of this thing, it’ll do some damage and possibly launch ‘em away from the camp. It’ll wake whomever is around too, since it’s pretty loud.”

Katla sits nearby and arches a brow.  
“Why not just make some kind of explosive trap?”

“Well, I’ve got some of those too, but you can’t place them as close to the camp. Might explode us as well otherwise.”

Rea nods briefly.  
“You’ve got a good point. That’s quite a handy tool then.”  
She gives it back as she glances at the rest of his gear lying by his side.  
“Is that what you have the most? Traps and stuff?”

It seems like he appreciates her interest as he begins talking more enthusiastically.  
“Oh, not at all. I’ve got all kinds of devices. Tool kits, elixir belts, utility goggles, portable turrets. I’ve even got a small mortar in my backpack for special use.”

“Heh. Seems like you’ve got it all, huh?”

“Of course! As an engineer, I’ve gotta be ready for all kinds of situations in the field. That’s what my warband expects from me – whenever there’s an unusual situation, I’m there to solve it for ‘em! And…sometimes to create a bit of chaos, I suppose.”

Rea giggles shortly, but Katla appears skeptical.  
“Do you ever invent anything?”, the older sister asks.

His eyes flashes with uncertainty as he clears his throat.  
“Well uh, not necessarily from scratch.”

“Isn’t that what ‘inventing’ means?”

“Eh…it varies with definition. Kind of.”  
He gains a frown from Katla, but tries to ignore it.  
“I mean, I haven’t exactly…you know, come up with a completely unique tool that no one has ever thought of before, but I’d still like to point out that I’ve created some rather interesting modifications to already existing technology. I’m pretty good at improvising, adding new ideas and sometimes merging two separate tools into something that most others don’t think to utilize.”

Rea’s lips curl up into a gentle expression.  
“I like that. It’s always good to keep an open mind and be creative. That’s useful in the field.”

“Precisely! That’s the kind of attitude that engineers survive on. You gotta be flexible!”

Katla frowns and shakes her head.  
“Just don’t blow anything up.”  
The older sister moves a wooden spoon around the pot she’s cooking with for a moment, making sure that the food remains stirred.  
“I guess your mother doesn’t like your tools all too much either.”

Raz grimaces when hearing his parent being mentioned and he sighs briefly. Probably not a good topic, but it is likely that Katla already knew this.  
“She just doesn’t understand. She wants me to be this big spy or scout type, to follow in her footsteps. I just wanna tinker, you know? My gadgets can be just as useful for Ash as to any other Legion.”

Rea tilts her head with interest.  
“That’s what your mother started as then? A spy?”

“Well…not exactly. I mean, yes, she has always been good at infiltration and manipulation, but she’s also a magic-user.”

“Oh, I didn’t notice that. I thought charr didn’t like magic.”

“We have nothing against magic, it’s just when it is used in an attempt to rule us that we tend to oppose it. Well…I guess Blood Legion may have somewhat of a grudge, but it’s mostly without trouble as long as you don’t cast any dangerous spells outside of the battlefield.”

She nods curtly, seeing the logic in that.  
“Our Sovi is a magic-user. She’s an ‘elementalist’, or something like that. Is that the kind of magic your mother uses too?”

He raises his claws to scratch at his neck in thought.  
“Hmm, not really, no. Elementalists have a bit more trouble in the High Legions, since many of them serve Flame. My mother uses necromancy. You know, magic that affects life and death.”

“Ah, that’s interesting. We have heard of it. Not quite what I would’ve expected a spy to use.”

“I think that’s the point too. She kinda likes surprising her enemies.”

Rea folds her arms, as she still wonders about his engineering interest.  
“Where did you learn your skills then? Your father?”

Raz snorts and shakes his head sharply.  
“Hah! He’s a Legionnaire in the Blood Legion and kind of a sword-nut, so no.”

Suddenly, he feels how a set of eyes glare sharply at him and Raz almost doesn’t wish to face them. Katla doesn’t sound particularly happy either.  
“Are you saying there’s something wrong with that mindset?”

He coughs and raises his hands defensively.  
“…what? Oh, no no! Of course not! Swords are great, yeah. Totally. Foremost weapon used in the Legions and all that.”

In reaction to their confrontation and Raz’s defense, Rea throws her head back and begins laughing louder than before. At the very least, he has a constant positive effect on one person in the team.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Gonna get into more of Razok's background at some point._


	19. Legend duality

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _This is the third "flashback with Eir" chapter for this story and I have two more outlined further ahead._

_1310 AE – Southern Frostgorge Sound, Shiverpeak Mountains_

The enraged roar of a minotaur echoes across the landscape as it raises one of its thick and muscular arms, slamming its large fist down at its foe. Reacting to this, Katla raises her reinforced metal shield and tries her best to block the attack. Despite how tall and large she has grown for the past few years, she is still not quite a match for a grown minotaur such as this. However, her resilience and strength is enough to absorb most of the damage received, even as her whole body vibrates with the impact. She knows she can’t take all too many of those. Had she not protected herself with a Guardian spell beforehand, it’s possible her arm would’ve broke. She grits her teeth and steels herself, moving the shield out of the way and turns her sword to swing it in a wide arch, slicing up a small wound on the minotaur’s exposed arm. In comparison to her, it groans in pain and takes a worried step back. It has yet to relent, however; this is its supposed territory, after all.

The wound forces it to retaliate, but before it manages to get very far, two arrows fly in from a flanking position, piercing the side of its thick hide. The minotaur roars in pain and outrage, the assault it was planning coming to a full stop and completely misses Katla. Rea stands on her slightly raised position about twenty meters back, looking rather pleased with her dual-shot. She widens her eyes somewhat when the minotaur rises once again, ignoring the pain as it begins to rush towards her instead.  
Yet again, however, it is prevented from reaching its destination, as a snow leopard leaps in to tackle it and forces her fangs in between the fur, in an attempt to bite at the flesh.  
Rea clutches her fist in triumph and smirks slightly.  
“Well done, Vikla! Get that big bastard!”

The minotaur tries to turn around to swat away the comparably small predator, but Vikla jumps backwards and gets out of the way, just as Katla tackles the beast with her shield, making it stagger in surprise. This is a tactic they’ve used before and one that works rather well – make their animal companion distract the beast for a moment, allowing Katla to catch up with their foe. She is the best target to endure the pain, after all.  
Unfortunately, the minotaur retaliates quicker this time, swiping at her with its claws and while she wears her chainmail armor that absorbs some of the damage, along with her spell, she still feels how they manage to dig into some flesh. She frowns and ignores the pain, throwing up her shield again and tries her best to block the onslaught that begins once more.

Fighting against a massive foe like this is never easy and neither of them had expected that. There is a reason why previous hunters had failed in taking it down and many had warned others from attempting without sufficient skill. The Svalen sisters are trying to prove just why they can be trusted with this kind of task and they aren’t about to let this creature be the end of either of them.  
They continue with their tactic, as Katla endures its assault, Rea gets into a flanking position, and Vikla tries to occasionally swipe or distract it.

What eventually defeats it is a unified effort of the norn duo – Katla pushes her resilience to the brink, not allowing it to best her in who can take the most pain, while Rea’s shots slowly and steadily drain the strength from the beast. Eventually, there is so little left of it that it barely has the stamina to attack Katla. She thinks to finish it off, but Rea puts one last arrow in its neck. It begins to stumble sideways, swaying back and forth as its legs tremble, and with a defeated groan, it slams down onto the snow with a loud thud. The ground beneath them both vibrate somewhat, but not enough to deter them.

For a few moments, they merely stand there and watch it, wondering if it’s going to shock them and rise again. When they see that there’s nothing left of its breathing either, Rea raises her arms into the air and lets out a triumphant cheer. She runs straight up to Katla and throws her arms around her sister’s neck.  
“We did it! Ha-ha, I knew we’d make it!”

The older sister grunts slightly in pain and surprise, but moves her sword arm to hug her back.  
“Could you take it a little bit easy? I think it broke a few ribs with one of those backhands.”

“Tsk, don’t be such a baby! We killed the beast! You should be too happy to feel pain.”

Katla rolls her eyes and shakes her head in disbelief.  
“That’s not how it works…”

Both of them are soon distracted by another laugh and someone applauding as she approaches them. Eir Stegalkin runs one arm around each of the Svalen sisters, hugging them close.  
“Well done, both of you! That was an incredible fight!”

Rea grins proudly and even Katla manages to show a small smile.  
“Didn’t I tell you that we’d succeed?”, Rea exclaims.

“Hah, of course you did! And I never doubted you.”

“Lies! I’m sure you wanted to step in when it was pounding Katla there for a while.”

Eir starts to laugh again and then nods curtly.  
“Alright, you saw through me. Yes, I was afraid for a while, but I kept up my faith in that you’d both succeed.”

They turn to see how the black wolf, Garm, and Vikla moves to join the celebration as well. Garm eagerly stands up on two legs in order to let his front paws reach Katla, while the snow leopard purrs and strokes herself against Rea’s leg. The older Svalen has to finally sheath her sword as to not get overwhelmed.  
“We did our best.”

The minotaur herds have been increasing exponentially, to such a degree that people in homesteads and small towns nearby are getting worried. The beast they just took down was one of the larger and more aggressive ones that had attacked some settlements in the area and even killed two people. It had to be tackled somehow and the Svalens believed they were up to the task. It seems now that they were correct.

Eir smiles at Katla, feeling rather glad that she’s been able to see the older sister during the past few months after Eir had to disappear for a time, the previous year. Her attention had been called this far north anyhow and it feels good that she doesn’t have to combat the danger of Jormag’s minions spreading and other threats to their people alone.  
After a few moments, she leans forward to plant a kiss each on the closest cheek of both sisters. Unlike when she first met them, Katla is now taller than the hunter, while Rea is thankfully about the same height as Eir herself.  
“Indeed, you did and I’m proud to have witnessed just how far you’ve come. You’re both true warriors at this point. No one can deny that now.”

Rea smiles brightly, while Katla blushes a bit.  
“T-thanks.”

Rea shakes her head in amusement at her sister’s still rather awkward behavior around Eir. She may feel comfortable being in the hero’s presence, but she hasn’t lost her crush.  
Eir’s eyes drifts back towards the carcass lying on the ground, seeing how the snow blows around it. They’ll probably have to do dispose of it in some fashion quite soon.  
“You know, your victory makes me realize something.”

Both of them watch her with interest as they hear her speaking with a reflective tone, but it’s Rea who responds.  
“And what’s that?”

A small, wistful smile soon adorns her lips.  
“Your legend is merged. Both of you carry much potential and an impressive amount of strength and ferocity, but united, you may be unstoppable.”  
She shifts her eyes to glance at them in turn.  
“I believe you’ll go very far if you decide to stick together.”

Katla watches her with a contemplative gaze, thinking her words over. That doesn’t last very long, however, as Rea smirks and punches her sister’s shoulder playfully.  
“Well duh! That’s pretty obvious, isn’t it? Together, me and Katla can defeat anything.”

Seeing it, Eir begins to smile even wider, as Katla shakes her head in annoyance. Katla eventually looks back at the minotaur and notices how the two other beasts are now eagerly approaching it.  
“We’d better cut some meat out of that thing before Garm and Vikla devour it all.”

Eir and Rea both erupt in a set of soft laughter. The slightly older norn pats their backs and they move in to get a share of their own from their prize.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Yeah, Vikla was Rea's old animal companon, before Grawdr. She has unfortunately passed away already._


	20. Restorative efforts

_1323 AE – A hill overlooking Bloodfin Lake, Iron Marches, Ascalon_

With a slight sigh of irritation, Sovica keeps one hand at the side of her old Ascalonian map while the other pulls incessantly at her lower lip. She’s somewhat annoyed over the lack of details in this area or the possibility that it has changed so much that she’s not able to fully compare it to what it once was.  
She doesn’t want to give up just yet, though. As one of the descendants of this land, she feels it’s her duty to watch and record as much of her journey as she’s able to, which includes finding certain ruins that she may not have originally come here for.  
Part of her doubts the necessity of this; surely, there are others more capable and more eager who would commit to this kind of thing? At the same time, she doesn’t know whether she’ll ever be able to return here, and so she must try her utmost to succeed.

Sov is so caught up in her own research, watching the area and glancing back on the map every now and then, that she doesn’t notice someone coming up behind her in the camp.  
“You need any help?”

She suddenly twitches in surprise at the deep voice being so close to her and swirls around, pulling the map up to her chest and watches the charr suspiciously.  
“What?”

Razok takes a careful step back and raises both hands as to show he doesn’t intend to do anything.  
“You look like you’re having a hard time. Just figured you might want some help.”

So far, the engineer hasn’t shown to be hostile or even unfriendly, but Sov still doesn’t think she can fully trust him.  
“No, I do not.”

She’s about to stand up and move away, but when her attention returns to the map, she’s reminded of how slow her work is coming along. While she dislikes the idea of asking for help from a charr - the old grudges working their reluctance on her - she knows how well he has acted during the days since they left the Ash Legion camp, as well as the pleas from Daenywe to reach out.  
In the past, she has seen charr in Lion’s Arch, as well as some working in and around her homeland, on the farms and manors that do not belong as much to Kryta anymore. During all that time, she can’t recall ever fully trying to get to know any of them and while that seemed like the obvious conclusion to make back then, she gains some doubt whether it’s been completely justified. Must be Dae’s empathic influence.

With another exhale, she glances over her shoulder at his gradually disappearing form as he intends to get back to sitting with the others.  
“Wait. I…I suppose I might require a little bit of assistance.”

Raz looks somewhat surprised at her change of heart, his ears twitching curiously, but he soon smiles and lumbers back to her position.  
“What is it you’re looking for then?”

She takes a deep breath, trying to gather as much calm as she can.  
“I want to find the ruins of Surmia. It…was one of the first cities to fall during the Searing. Or, well, it is said it fell even before the cataclysm itself, while your people were charging against the wall.”

As she talks, even if there might be some critical insinuations in her words, he doesn’t seem to take note of them. Instead, he raises his claws to stroke at the bottom of his chin, as he watches her map and then up at the region around them.  
“I believe I know what you’re talking about, yeah. Sadly, I don’t think much remains of those ruins anymore. Some of that could be blamed on my people’s invasion, but the crystal dragon also did a lot of damage when it created the Dragonbrand. I fear it may have destroyed what was left.”

Sov’s shoulders slumps at these news, as she hadn’t considered this fact.  
“Ah, I…I see. That’s unfortunate.”

Raz studies her and his ears flicks down for a moment before something comes to mind.  
“However, there may be another location you can check. You ever heard of the Durmand Priory?”

“Oh, yes, of course. They’re a group of researchers and scholars. I think they have an outpost within Divinity’s Reach.”

“Yeah, they’ve come to the Black Citadel before as well. Anyway, they wandered around this area for a while and there’s one spot to the north of here”, he moves a claw down to the map and points out a location, “that they gave the name ‘Kilnn’s Rest’ or something along those lines. Apparently, he was some kind of human hero.”

The name immediately ignites a memory of something she read about during her history lessons.  
“Kilnn? You’re talking about Kilnn Testibrie, the Champion of Surmia?”

“I uh, I think so? I’m not sure. From the scouting report, they just said it was some kind of rest for a Kilnn.”

A smile she hasn’t had for a few days, except for when being in the company of Dae, appears on her lips and she seems quite excited at the prospect.  
“This was news to me. I wasn’t even aware he had some kind of memorial. Thank you! That is most helpful.”

He meets hers with a smile of his own and nods curtly.  
“You’re welcome. My mother has always tried to push in as much knowledge of maps into my head as possible and the necessity to read scout reports about our territory all the time. She thought it’d make me a good scout too. Not the most fun task, but it does come in handy every now and then.”

A bit of sympathy flashes through Sov’s mind. Perhaps they have more in common than she might’ve anticipated.  
“That sounds…rather familiar, actually. My parents are very much the same; always trying to control what I do and where I focus my interests. It is never easy to deal with them.”

Raz nods once more, moving to sit down somewhat more comfortably next to her, now that they seem to have a conversation going.  
“Are they in the Krytan military then?”

He knows the names for several human military organizations, but doesn’t wish to guess which ones her family might be involved with. However, Sov glances down and shakes her head.  
“No uh, they’re not. I suppose it would be better to call them administrators.”

“Ah, well, I guess they can be just as demanding.”

Sov sighs briefly, shutting her eyes when recalling how much trouble she used to get into.  
“I’d definitely agree, yeah. My parents have always had high expectations of me and therefore taught me to always strive for certain standards. When I didn’t meet them with the choices I’ve made in life, well…they’ve been quite disappointed.”

The smile Raz shows now has a hint of bitterness rather than joy and his tail swings back and forth behind him.  
“Well, you saw how my mother treated me, so, I’m all too aware of parental disappointment.”

She decides to study him a bit further, seeing now that they may have had more similar experiences than she initially thought.  
“I suppose that’s true. Has your mother never given you any support at all? Or shown her love?”

Raz’s light grey, almost white eyes, are focused upon the terrain, but his mind is further away, lost in memories.  
“Hmm, to a certain degree, I guess. At the same time, though, she doesn’t really like my interests in engineering, thinking it doesn’t suit her cub. I’ve also already lost one of my warbands in the past and now that it almost happened a second time, well…” He shrugs briefly. “In our culture, the failures of one family member can affect the rest.”

“It’s not so different from my people, especially for the kind of social class that I’m born in. They expect you to act in a certain way and embarrassing yourself is doing harm to your family’s name.”

He turns to watch her with interest, seeing where they might be able to construct some kind of bridge in between their separate outlooks.  
After a few moments of silence, as they linger on the thoughts of their pasts and experiences, Raz alters the topic slightly.  
“I hardly mention it to anyone else among my warband or peers, but I do think we need to do something about our war with your people. With the ogres coming down at us, the Flame Legion rising again and the ghosts still inhabiting many regions of our land, we need peace on at least one front, or else I doubt we’ll be able to hold out.”

She may be suspicious of his point of view, but it could be informative to hear as well.  
“You think they’re that dangerous?”

“Yeah, in several ways. The ogres may be fewer in number, but they’re individually stronger than us. Plus, they know the mountains to the east of here pretty well.  
The Flame Legion enslaved most of our people once and I am fairly sure they’re able to do it again if they were given the chance. Not to mention that if they get ahold of the same tools which created the Searing, it’s possible they might use it against us next time.  
And then there’s the ghosts. We still have no clue how to stop them from continuously resurfacing and while we are able to kill them, our strength slowly dwindles while theirs is constantly returned.  
If we add the war against your people on top of all this, it is looking pretty grim. We can’t go on like this forever.”

Sov tilts her head curiously. He speaks the truth, most likely, and while she doesn’t know for certain how she feels about all this, it is probably a positive aspect for her people. Maybe some of them here could rebuild if given the respite.  
“What about Ebonhawke? You don’t mind that it exists?”

He shrugs again, this time more nonchalantly.  
“I don’t see why we should fear it. Some soldiers may feel like we need to ‘cleanse’ Ascalon, but I think that kind of attitude is stupid. Much of the Legions have already redirected our attention elsewhere and I’m pretty sure that we could learn to live together. Who knows, maybe if we stopped fighting against each other, we could stand side by side against the other threats. I doubt your people like the idea of your ancestors never getting to properly rest any more than we do, right?”

Before she reached Ascalon, she had only heard stories of the land being cursed. The Foefire, the final retaliation of the old King of Ascalon. Sounded like a silly ghost story, but she has seen it from a distance now, that it is very much the truth and an unfortunate one at that. Could all the spirits of Ascalon still be present? Is it possible that some of her own ancestors are continuously rising from their graves, unable to ever peacefully enter the Mists? It sounds like a torturous existence.  
“No, I…I can’t say that it’s particularly appealing. I don’t want my people to suffer that way.”

“Exactly, which is an understandable reaction.”

She feels unsure, though – working together with the charr? That may be a step she isn’t even sure if she’s willing to take herself. And what happens when the other threats disappear?  
“Can I call you Razok?”

“Yeah, of course.”

“Razok, if things were as they used to be, where it was just humans versus charr on this battlefield, do you think you’d be the same? Would you be opposed to the war against my people at that point?”

Obviously, a complicated question with a lot of facets and perspectives. He seems to ponder it for several moments before raises one of his hands to scratch the top of his mane.  
“You know, I’m not actually sure. It’s difficult to say, as I don’t know what would happen at that point. Perhaps I would be, perhaps I wouldn’t.  
What I can honestly say, though, is that I think the Searing was a cowardly act from my people. No matter who it was that utilized it, it was wrong.”

His words have an unexpected impact on her and she widen her eyes. It shocks her that he actually manages to sound sincere, although just the fact that he would say that should indicate it. Few charr would ever admit such a thing, even if it may have been the Flame Legion who initially used it.  
With a slight smile, she realizes that her respect may grow for him.  
“Thank you. I…very much appreciate the sentiment.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _I never planned for Razok and Sovica to continuously fight anyway, and this is the first step of them accepting each other._


	21. Imperative conclusions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _And in this chapter, I introduce my last main character - the male asura necromancer Ovillus. I've added[a short profile](http://creativebankruptcy.tumblr.com/gw2) for him on the blog, in case you wanna see his appearance better._

_1323 AE – Eastern Iron Marches, Ascalon_

While Sovica has quite enjoyed the travelling she has done on the open road with her new companions so far, there is one area in which she’s not always fully satisfied – privacy. And it is not the privacy of getting to be alone, but rather the opportunity of having Daeynwe close to her.  
It’s not like they’re never given the chance to be away from prying eyes, but she certainly wouldn’t mind some more time to do so. This is exactly why she and Dae occasionally sleep away from the main camp, or like they’re doing now, walking a bit off the road to focus on one another instead.

The conversations they have during those occasions may not be the most fascinating, but Sov has quickly come to understand that she rarely cares whether they are. The ability to just stay close to the sylvari is enough for her and often manages to uplift her, whether it’s what she wants or not. To be in love is a very…curious sensation, from that point of view.

While they walk beneath the tree crowns close to the road in this part of the Iron Marches, Dae disappears for a few moments as she attempts to gather something. When she returns, she moves with her arms behind her back and doesn’t reveal them until she’s right next to Sov. The human blinks in surprise as Dae places something in her hair, just above her right ear.  
Arching a brow in confusion, Sov raises her hand up to it and then smiles.  
“Is that…a flower?”

Dae smiles and nods curtly.  
“Yup! I saw a few of them close to one of the trees over there.”

She points over towards the west, but Sov isn’t particularly interested from which direction they were taken.  
“You think I should wear this?”

“Yes! You definitely should.”

“And you don’t think this looks silly?”

Dae tilts her head slightly, her smile gaining a wry aspect.  
“No, why would it? I want the flower to get a chance to be close to real beauty, after all.”

She giggles, enjoying the sentiment, but at the same time shakes her head as well.  
“Your charm doesn’t work as well as you believe.”

The sylvari leans closer, pulling their hands together in a gentle embrace.  
“Sure it does. It makes you smile, doesn’t it?”

Sov can’t really help getting affected by such words either. She feels a flush of warmth across her face and to cover up the embarrassed smile, she pulls Dae closer and places the free hand at her cheek. During the past few weeks, she has gotten much more used to kissing the rogue. The differences she had sensed earlier are now familiar and very appealing, bringing a sense of warmth and joy to her whole being. A kiss from Dae often makes her want to fully throw herself into the sylvari’s arms and stay there for the rest of the day. Unfortunately, neither of them have that luxury at this particular time.

In the middle of their intimate moment, they hear some noise further ahead on the road. Their first thought is of course that it may be Rea and Katla arguing or something along those lines, but they quickly dismiss such thoughts as the voices sound like neither.  
Moving past a large boulder which lies in their path, they soon see what’s going on.  
A small group are gathered in the open, consisting of five individuals and four very large metallic creatures. All of the individuals are asura. Four of them are dressed in red and black armors, while the last one looks way less equipped. He’s wearing a set of dark green clothes with golden furred edges. Most of them wear helmets too, except for the one who stands out – his brown skin with ashen spots can be seen, as well as his red hair tied up in a short ponytail. The armored asura surrounds him and it almost looks like a set of soldiers cornering a civilian.  
The metallic creatures are much larger than the asura, and from what Sov can see, probably larger than her and Dae as well. They too are created from a black metal, with certain red buttons and lights.

Before acting, Sov angles her head closer to Dae while she whispers.  
“What are those big metal creatures? Have you seen those before?”

The sylvari responds in a similar volume.  
“Mm, I have. I believe they’re golems.”

“Golems?”

“Guardians created by the asura and their strange magic. They’re very strong, but usually quite slow. Depending on how efficiently they’ve been crafted, they can be very dangerous.”

It appears that they’re arguing about something, as the surrounded one raises his hands defensively.  
“Surely, my fellow intellectuals, there’s no need for such hostilities? I wish you no harm whatsoever! And why should I? We’re all asura here and there’s so few of us in these lands.”

One of the armored asura speaks up with a softer voice, but a much harsher tone.  
“You have yet to answer our inquiries! You refuse to identify yourself nor give us the proper documents of passage.”

He uses a friendlier tone in return.  
“Documents? But please, I only wish to engage in some civilized negotiations.”

She frowns at him and takes a step closer, grabbing the hem of his top as she glares into his eyes.  
“There’s no negotiations to be had, imbecile! Leave our territory immediately, or you shall have to be disposed of.”

He widens his pale green eyes in shock, but makes no effort of resistance.  
“D-disposed of?! I don’t understand this ludicrous animosity you keep towards me! Have you not realized that we are not enemies? I’m not with the colleges, I assure you!”

“Do you honestly believe you can trick us so handily, cur? Your lies are as deficient as those of a skritt!”

He gasps, as if he’s truly offended.  
“And insults too! I don’t know what I have done to deserve this type of treatment!”

While this happen, Sov and Dae looks at one another, scowling slightly and then decide to interfere.  
It is Sov who speaks up first, as Dae comes to realize that she has a surprisingly commanding voice.  
“Hey! What in Kormir’s name is going on here?”

Her words immediately attract everyone’s attention, but instead of letting his opponents react first, the lone asura raises a hand in the air in the form of a greeting or a sign.  
“Ah, there you are! I knew my backup would arrive eventually! Come, take them now while you have the chance!”

Dae and Sov appear surprised, as do the other asura of course. They don’t wait for long, however.  
“Prepare weapons! Destroy the intruders!”

Sov widen her eyes in shock.  
“What?!”

Dae swallows nervously.  
“Uh-oh.”

The golems suddenly shake into action as the lights from their heads and arms begin to glow in a sharper red and they hear static voices speaking of ‘combat mode initiating’. Probably not a very good sign. The four asura raise a set of different weapons – two of them hold very odd-looking rifles, while the other duo has close-range equipment. At the same time, the asura who they were accosting previously, sneaks away from the battlefield and tries to disappear.

There’s not much choice in how they can and should act in this situation, and therefore Sov gathers magic into her hands, absorbing the earth from the ground in order to prepare a defensive perimeter.  
“I’ll try to hold the big ones off us! Try to get their masters!”

“All on your own? You can’t do that, Sovica!”

“Watch me!”  
She conjures an earth barrier in front of her to protect herself from the massive metal monsters that come at her, while also preparing to summon an elemental. She doesn’t know how much a rock can resist steel, but hopefully well enough to protect her. All they can hope for is that backup arrives soon.

In the meantime, Dae unsheathes her pistols to target the asura that comes charging right behind their golems, but it’s difficult for her to get a good shot. It appears they utilize their metallic companions both as walking shields and tools to break their opponents’ defenses.  
However, from the side, the sylvari spots the glow of magic and she’s surprised to see that the bullied asura did not actually flee, but rather seems to prepare his own counterattack. From the dirt below him, she watches how creatures rise around him; they’re grotesque constructions of bone and exposed rotten flesh. It appears he is not as defenseless as he previously seemed.

He doesn’t attack immediately, however, but instead waits for a distraction, something which arrives very timely.  
Just as two of the golems break Sov’s magical shield and her elemental has difficulties to protect her, a large shadow appears from above. Katla comes dropping down from the large boulder nearby, holding the tip of her sword focused at the closest golem and impales it with a powerful strike, imbued with Guardian runes. It doesn’t break apart the large construct completely, but it certainly creates a sharp dent, which breaks out into cracks along its metal hide.  
From behind, both Razok and Rea prepare their own long range attacks, as Grawdr charges in to assist Rea.

Dae grins in triumph as the asura quickly tries to take cover from the charr’s turrets that rain bullet down towards them and uses that as a distraction to rush into combat. If anything, she’s good at flushing their enemies out of hiding.  
It is then that the asura they helped out returns the favor as he launches his necromantic minions towards his compatriots that wield rifles, as the minions try to chase them down and gut them.

The red-clad asura finally make their retreat when one of their melee fighters gets heavily injured by Dae, along with the sight of a wide swing from Katla slicing the arm off of one golem, and a joint assault from Rea’s arrows and Sov’s rock projectiles piercing the hide of another. The rest immediately call out for a retreat. Grawdr is the only one who seems to chase after them, but Rea tells him to stand back. There’s no need to hunt down such easy prey.

Katla sighs as she disengages her own runes and glances at Dae and Sov.  
“Can’t you two walk alone for more than a few minutes before you get into trouble?”

Sov turns to her in surprise, but then frowns at her while pouting.  
“What?! We didn’t do anything! They attacked us out of nowhere!”

Dae nods eagerly.  
“Besides, we didn’t do it for nothing. We were helping out the one over there.”

The necromancer steps out from his little cover behind some trees, holding a metal staff in his hand with some sort of lights at the top and he smiles brightly as he waves at them.  
“Indeed you did and I can now say I am most grateful for your timely assistance!”

Sov looks somewhat annoyed and she folds her arms.  
“You could’ve told us before you pulled us into this.”

“Hah, I’m afraid that would’ve been rather problematic as I was completely surrounded at the time. Still, you all performed to an excellent degree! Especially your tremendously tall friends here.”

He gestures at Katla and Rea – the former frowns while the latter places a hand at her hip and smirks. Dae shows him a friendly smile as she sheathes her weapons.  
“Well, we’re glad we could help. Why were they attacking you anyhow?”

He moves towards them, using his staff for slight support as his minions appear to follow him.  
“A very curious question and one I can answer with an inquiry of my own! You see, my name is Ovillus and I'm a former associate of the College of Synergetics. I have come to this land with a very specific and imperative task at hand. And therefore, I ask you – would you be willing to earn some coins?”


	22. Reclamation procedure

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Yeah, I know that the Inquest technically has a base in Blazeridge, but it worked better this way. Trust me! Besides, this is two years prior to the game._

_1323 AE - Eastern Iron Marches, Ascalon_

Close to the side of the mountain range that separates the regions of the Iron Marches and Blazeridge Steppes, the mixed group of travelers have settled down behind some rocks as they watch a rather curious sight. They see small, yet fairly sturdy structures, something that they may even classify as buildings. Their walls and roofs are shaped like very large cubes or rectangles, with odd patterns against the stone texture and the occasional small containers with blue light, which Ovillus has identified to them as being created by asuran magic. Apparently, they utilize similar things in all their creations, to help give power and security.

From their scouting position, Katla turns to glance at the much smaller Ovillus at her side, keeping her voice down.  
“What did you call these people?”

He tilts his head upwards, forcing himself to bend his neck quite a bit for his eyes to face hers.  
“Inquest. That’s their chosen designation, at the very least.”

“You didn’t seem to be very friendly with them.”

“Hmph, no I certainly am not. As I was attempting to explain before you told me to be quiet, they are a…let’s call it ‘rogue element’ of asuran society, or rather Rata Sum in particular. They do not believe in the same ideals of unity and sharing knowledge, as they mostly look out for their own. It has created several errors for the Colleges.”

“Colleges?”

He sighs and folds his arms.  
“Educational institutions in Rata Sum and locations where a lot of new inventions and theories for asuran society are developed.”

Sovica sits next to Daeynwe as they’re nearby, but they stay out of view for now. Sov strokes her chin in thought, feeling quite fascinated to know more of the asura. She can recall what she has read in books and while that is limited, she’s certainly aware that their magical knowledge is substantial.  
“But you are not with these Inquest, right?”

“Hah! No, far from it. I have too much dignity and wisdom to interact with these megalomaniacal imbeciles. They believe they comprehend and can manipulate the Eternal Alchemy.” He snorts derisively. “The gall! No, this organization is dangerous and malicious, I tell you.”

Rea arches a confused brow.  
“The eternal what?”

Ovillus waves a dismissive hand and Sovica pursues her own question instead.  
“So, what is it you want us to do here then? You’re the one paying for this task.”

He nods eagerly, jumping away from his rock so as to be out of view once more. Only Katla remains to watch.  
“Well, you see, I came to this region of Tyria to study the curious essence of the Elder Dragon Kralkattorik and its so called ‘Dragonbrand’. It is the latest dragon to awaken after all, and I believe much can be learned by studying the composition and location of which it thrives in.”

Razok looks at him doubtfully.  
“And uh, what do you intend to do with that kind of information?”

“For now, nothing. I merely wish to expand my research, that is all. What I do with the knowledge I acquire is completely dependent on my discoveries. This is the essence of science, after all!”

Dae tilts her head curiously.  
“What does this have to do with the Inquest then? The Dragonbrand is to the north, or further east, depending where you wish to go.”

“I know that! I was by the Dragonbrand previously, you see, and I intended to follow its grounds further south to see if the contents change with the landscape. Unfortunately, I ran into Inquest agents who seemed to be doing similar research to mine. They…confiscated my information, which they have no jurisdiction to do! I tried to reason with them, but they would not listen to me. And they call themselves intellectuals…”  
He shakes his head in disappointment.

“And now you wish to pay us to get it back.”

“That is correct, my plant-based friend! I have a substantial amount of coin left that I brought with me from Rata Sum. I have little use for them as I only utilize it for my basic needs and would be willing to relinquish some if you can get those research notes back for me. They are of vital importance to my analysis. Some of what I wrote cannot be replicated so easily! Not to mention the importance of first impressions and field intuition.”

Dae appears skeptical, but Sov nods in understanding.  
“You may have thoughts out there in the spur of the moment which you can’t have anywhere else.”

He smiles eagerly.  
“Hah, someone who grasps my predicament! A fellow outdoors academic, perhaps?”

She returns the expression.  
“Well, in a way. Though I doubt I’ve been able to do the same kind of studies as you have. Still, I think we can help you.”

Katla nods in agreement.  
“Yeah, although not for free, of course. I assume you want us to attack them?”

Ovillus glances up at her, but then shrugs.  
“Well, not necessarily. Whatever way you find the most prudent to regain my notes, I will agree to.”

She crosses her arms, a few strategies running through her mind, but she quickly realizes that she has very little experience against these kinds of opponents. She looks over at the others.  
“Thoughts?”

Sov scratches her cheek, thinking of the most obvious to begin with.  
“Have you tried the diplomatic route? I mean, proper negotiations and not just the…screaming that happened when we encountered you.”

“Oh yes, naturally. It was my first instinct and therefore also what I started with. As you saw out on the road, it did not succeed. Not on the first, second or third attempt.”

Raz moves to sit down on their side, leaning against one of the rocks nearby.  
“Well, as the most military-minded here, I can say that a frontal assault is not recommended. Their walls are robust and I’m guessing they may have more magical defenses too.”

Ovillus sighs briefly.  
“You’re correct, of course. On top of this, I believe they have procured arcane turrets, which would make a straightforward approach rather perilous.”

Silence lingers over them as they contemplate their options. Sov peers up, past the rocks nearby and over towards the mountains. They reach quite far in this region and their slopes could be a useful tool.  
“Couldn’t we create some kind of diversion?”

She gains the attention from most, and Katla glances between her and mountains.  
“In what way?”

“The Inquest have placed their base just by the mountain range’s feet. We could exploit that to our advantage. I believe I can awaken the elements of earth further up along its height and create a landslide, guiding it down over their base. Obviously not enough to bury them, but certainly enough to cause alarm.”

Raz smiles as he sees her point now.  
“Ahh, yeah, that’s a good idea. If I set up my turrets in strategical locations around the area, they’d be too distracted by both the landslide and our gunfire to see what happens by the entrance. Someone could sneak inside.”

Sov is glad that he sees her point.  
“Exactly. Obviously, the rest of you help out by launching your own attacks. Just don’t get too close. We want to lure them out, not have a full-scale battle.”

Ovillus looks to Sov with interest.  
“Oh yes, I saw how you utilized your magic previously. The manipulation of the elements, yes? I’d love to speak with you regarding the application of such magic upon the foundation of world creation theory and its relations to the Eternal Alchemy.”

“You’re correct, although I don’t think we have the time for such a discussion right now.”

“Oh, you’re right, of course.”

Rea smirks and shakes her head, hearing the two magic users speak.  
“Yeah, let’s focus on the present. When it comes to stealth, though, I think we already have a candidate for that job.”

Most of their eyes turn to Dae then and the sylvari crosses her arms and smiles proudly.  
“Mhm, you can count on me! I’ll get it done, I promise. With enough distractions, they won’t notice a thing. I’ll be in and out with those notes in no time.”

Despite her confidence, Ovillus doesn’t quite share it.  
“Uh, you intend to go in alone? Are you sure that’s wise?”

“I don’t see why it wouldn’t be. I’m a professional!”

“Well, how is your reading comprehension of asuran language?”

She stops, pondering his question and realizes that he has a point. She raises a hand to stroke between the leaves on the top of her head.  
“Ehh…I suppose it’s not the best, no. I mean, I wasn’t really taught that kind of thing in the Grove.”

“Precisely. Perhaps it is for the best if I come with you.”

She turns to him skeptically, not quite agreeing with his solution.  
“I don’t think that’s a good idea either. Can’t you just show me some examples of how they look?”

“What, the exact words? I don’t have any copies! And besides, there’s a lot of text and I will admit that it is not organized to perfection. They are simple field notes, after all, and therefore I have not had time to rewrite them properly.”

“Yes, but, still…”

Rea glances between them, trying to think of a solution.  
“I think I agree with Daeynwe, though. The most important part of her mission is to be able to sneak inside the building. You don’t seem like the stealthy type.”

“I’ll have you know that I can be quite restrained when the situation demands it!", Ovillus tells her.

She sighs in annoyance. He hasn’t proven that so far, at least.  
“I’m not saying you can’t, but, we’re talking about a life and death situation here. Whoever infiltrates the building needs to be swift, noiseless and precise. The only one among us able to fill all those three requirements is Daeynwe, as far as I know.”

He looks uncertain, really trying to search himself and while he wishes to protest, he realizes it may be foolish.  
“I…suppose you may have a point. But if she can’t find the proper notes, it will all be a rather useless endeavor.”

The other Svalen sister interferes with a suggestion.  
“Well, she can’t read the text, we get that, but have you not marked your stuff in some other way? Some kind of symbol or maybe your name?”

Ovillus’ eyes shine up in recognition and he smiles.  
“Oh yes, of course!”  
He shifts around to Dae.  
“I always put down my signature at the very top. If I show you the way I shape it, you should be able to find the exact papers that belong to me. That is, unless they have already demolished those particular fragments.”

“Yes! I think that shouldn’t be too difficult. I just need to see what it looks like and I should be able to memorize it”, Dae says rather enthusiastically.

“My necromantic spells will probably be more of use on the battlefield regardless, so this is most likely the best solution.”

Rea studies her companions, as well as the layout of the area, thinking about the most opportune place for her to stand on when they move out.  
“So, we’ve got a plan then? I suggest we wait until it gets darker. The cover of night will give us an advantage.”

Raz seems to agree as he inclines his head.  
“Good point. I think I can get some flares in among them too, light up their position to us while they have less of a clue where we’ll be sitting.”

“And I don’t have much problem moving in the night either, so it shouldn’t be an issue”, Dae says while leaning against Sov. She intertwines their hands and smiles somewhat wryly.  
“I hope you’ll do your best not to bury me under all those rocks too.”

Sov rolls her eyes, but makes a similar expression as she leans close, allowing them to nuzzle their noses together.  
“Don’t be silly, I would never do anything that could hurt you. You’re too precious to me.”

Katla shakes her head as she sees them. Not that she minds their manners, but they’ve got more important matters to deal with.  
“Alright, let’s start preparing our assault then. We still have things to do before it begins.”


	23. Extraction

_1323 AE – Eastern Iron Marches, Ascalon_

In the cover of night, as the area around the mountainside has gone quiet, the group initiates their operation. Turrets gets placed on strategic locations, people set themselves up behind rocks and bushes that give them good positions for concealment, and their sylvari stands ready to move out at a moment’s notice.  
Sovica is currently by her side, as the two women wait for the signal to be given by their comrades that everyone stands ready. It finally arrives through a few reflective blinking lights created by Razok, making the human turn towards Daeynwe. She wraps her arms around her companion’s neck and pulls her in for a deep and eager kiss. There’s no other way she can express herself before what they’re about to do. She speaks shortly afterwards, but keeps her tone down.  
“Good luck.”

Dae searches through Sov’s eyes and smiles, nudging their noses together.  
“You too. Show these bastards what you can do.”

Sov smiles wryly towards her girlfriend, winks and then heads closer to the rocks. While sensing the elemental power in the area, she is still forced to move as close to the rock wall as possible for the kind of maneuver she wishes to produce. Shutting her eyes and concentrating, Sov connects with as much of the stony creations as she possibly can and within a minute of starting, the echoing sound of rocks crashing against each other can be heard through the region. This obviously alarms the asura in their buildings, especially when a few comes crashing down on top of their roof.  
Unfortunately, the elementalist can’t stop there, as she has to strain herself to halt the rocks approach, not wanting to let them crush the structures completely. Keeping so many objects in check is a momentous task, but thankfully she is quite well-trained and with Dae having to sneak in, she has good motivations for doing everything she can to succeed.

As soon as the Inquest operatives exit their building to evacuate, or at least to see what’s going on, Razok initiates his active turrets, making them fire in the asura’s direction. Not that they have much accuracy at this range, but their purpose is distraction and in that fashion, they work perfectly.  
At the same time, Ovillus releases a few of his minions and Rea shoots several well-placed arrows in their vicinity.  
Katla has very little long-range capacity and therefore has gotten to borrow Raz’s flare gun, which she uses to launch a shot in order to light up the Inquest’s position. The asura quickly scurry, hiding behind whatever rocks, golems or other large objects that they can find and try to return fire.

Seeing how the distraction works perfectly, Dae begins her stealthy approach towards the facility, starting by moving in from behind it. She follows the left wall, crouching down beside it as she watches the movement of the asura and golems from the darkness. Seeing a gap in their defenses, she takes it and moves as quickly and quietly as she can. It appears she’s in luck as she enters it without getting a reaction from anyone on the outside. The easy part is done then.

Once she’s inside, Dae realizes that there are far more confusing measures to take. She’s met with a whole range of sights that she has very little knowledge of. Hovering crystals, glowing boxes and cylinders, ornamental cups, bowls and other items are stacked around different workbenches and tables, and while she’s well aware of that she’s looking for notes, it’s difficult to know where to start.  
Trying to maintain her silence, she rummages around the items but with a hint of caution. She’d rather not let them hear her now when she’s so close.

Her search does prove fruitful rather quickly, as she finds several stacks of paper along one of the far walls, beneath some kind of box marked with a strange red symbol and she quickly grabs the note in the pocket of her jacket, trying to compare them to what Ovillus handed to her. She has to go through several of the stacks before she finally thinks that she has found the right ones. With a grin, she grabs as many as she can, trying to shove them into her clothes as well. She has to stop at one point as she hears some noise from behind and glances over her shoulder. To her surprise, an asura comes wandering out, not from the entrance, but from one of the side passages in the building. The asura glances at her in shock, his ears perking up in response and it appears that he was just as shocked to see her as vice versa.  
“I-intruder! Help!”

He takes a few steps back and unsheathes a blade hanging from his belt. Dae narrows her eyes as takes several swift steps towards him, drawing her own weapons in the process. From behind the man comes another asura, this one with a hammer in hand. She would’ve preferred to just deal with one opponent swiftly, but thankfully, these ones aren’t super quick either. She easily dodges and parries their attacks, trying her best to disarm them. She would prefer not to kill, but she may have no choice.  
The sword-wielding one isn’t the best in combat and loses his weapon, but the woman with the blunt tool is sturdier, merely deflecting Dae’s attempts to disarm her. The sylvari groans in frustration and has to deal with them in some other way.

She has a short duel with the female asura as the male one gives them some space, but Dae then notices how he has actually not given up and instead tries to run closer to one of the stacks of spare rifles that the Inquest has stored along one of the walls. Dae knows how much noise there’ll be made if he gets the chance to actually fire one and in desperation, she tosses one of her own sword towards him. His eyes widen in shock as the blade pierces his back and he tumbles to the ground.

“No!” the woman calls out, and then shifts back to Dae in rage, now trying even harder to squash the sylvari beneath her hammer. The rage makes the attacks more frequent, but her defenses also gets worse with each strike. Thankfully, Dae is quite agile and very fast, allowing her to jump away or above most of the swings. A few of them brush past her or just barely touches her arm or leg, but not enough to do much damage.  
Waiting for the right opportunity, Dae takes it once the asura reveals an opening and stabs her sword into the shorter woman’s arm. The asura cries out in pain and almost drops her weapon. Dae pulls out her blade swiftly, changing location to reach the asura’s back, grabs a shoulder and then twists her blade around in her hand, stabbing it as hard as she can muster into her enemy’s chest. It’s a little bit tricky with how short her opponent is, but she manages.

Blood flows down from the woman’s mouth as she stumbles backwards, slamming into one of the tables and knocking over several of the tools on top of it before she falls.  
Now weaponless, Dae surveys the area, breathing heavily as she steps back, making sure that there’s no one else with her in here. It appears somewhat grisly with the two short creatures on the ground, both of them with a blade impaling them, but Dae has no time to think this over, as she instead grabs the notes which she came here for.

Just as she contemplates leaving, her eyes react to something in the other room which appears to glow amidst the otherwise rather dark area. Her inquisitive and treasure-seeking mind captures her will and she decides to take a closer look. To her slight disappointment, it’s not a room filled with gems or gold, but she does spot something curious nonetheless. Being held up on a pedestal by a thin contraption, there is a shimmering purple or pink orb. It’s not completely nor smoothly round, but it is shaped as some kind of ball at least, and seemingly made by a crystalline material. She feels an interesting attraction to the item and she decides to grab it. It feels quite nice to hold in her hand and as it doesn’t hurt to hold it, she pulls it away from the contraption that it is attached to. As she does, she hears a humming noise that slowly descends in volume, as if she just shut a machine off.  
She quickly glances around again, to make sure that no one noticed it. Thankfully, she spots no guards come running.  
She gives the orb in her hand a quick look and as she figures it might be of some value, she shrugs and pockets it for later use. Perhaps Ovillus may know something of what it entails.

Dae returns to the main room and pulls out the sword from the second asura she killed and is about to move to the first one when suddenly, someone approaches from the outside. One of the guards that has been fighting with her friends steps inside, obviously about to call to whomever was left within, when he instead notices the sylvari.  
“What the…who in the Mists are you?!”

“Eh…”  
She clears her throat somewhat awkwardly.  
“Combat consultant?”

She waves her sword around in the air as if to amplify her lie, but with the two dead bodies, he’s not fooled nor particularly pleased. He raises the rifle in his hands, but before he manages to put it in the correct angle, she throws her blade right at him. In shock, he jumps away, just barely avoiding it as it pierces the wall instead. While he did avoid it, the act makes him lose sight of her for a few seconds, which is enough time for Dae to close the distance between them. She charges at him, prepares herself and the last thing he sees when he looks up is the slim woman raising one of her legs and kicking upwards, hitting the bottom of his chin. Without enough evasive speed, he topples backwards and slams hard onto the ground. She’s glad that he was knocked out instantly, as this means she doesn’t need to kill him too.

Dae gives herself a few moments to breathe and then decides that no more distractions can be allowed. She collects her swords, holster them and then leaves the facility before anything else gets in her way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Not much dialogue this time, but this was mostly made to show that Daeynwe knows how to fight too, even if she's playing with a bit of luck as well. And maybe that she's not the stealthiest of people, despite what she says._   
>  _Oh, also the orb._


	24. The nature of brilliance

_1323 AE – Passage between Iron Marches and Blazeridge Steppes_

After the flight from the Inquest’s camp with the re-stolen documents in hand, the team proceeded far enough into the mountain passage south of the base to be able to hide away from their pursuers. Luckily, it seems that the wayward asura had not thought to chase after them all too vigorously through the night, although it’s difficult to tell whether they will continue to do so in the morning. For now, they remain vigilant.

In the group’s own encampment, Ovillus appears to be rather pleased to have his hard work returned into his possession and except for some minor damage on a few pages, they remain mostly intact. He does sorely wish he had access to some of the storage devices back in Rata Sum, but that doesn’t appear to be an option.  
Currently, he’s seated not too far away from the two shorter ladies in the company, as they’ve just had a very late evening meal. Not the most grandeur of food he’s ever tasted, but definitely better than what he can make on his own.  
“I’m not completely certain if I had the chance to say this previously, but I am eternally grateful that you had the grace to allow me to stay within the confines of your camp. I doubt I would’ve survived for long on my own.”

Daeynwe finds his elaborate way of speaking to be kind of funny, but she doesn’t voice her opinion.  
“You’re welcome! It’s not all too bad anyway, as we kinda like having more company here.”

Sovica nods in agreement.  
“Indeed, and you did choose to pay us rather well, so it only seems fair that you come with us if we’re going the same way.”

He grabs a few sips of the water he has stored in a bottle, feeling rather content in his relaxed position. It’s been a while since his stomach felt this fulfilled at least.  
“Well, you are splendid company for the most part, although I wonder if your…largest associate truly feels the same for me.”

Dae smirks, glancing over towards Katla as she’s located on a boulder further away from the others. She has chosen to take the first watch shift for the night.  
“Bah, don’t worry about her. She’s difficult at first, but I’ve noticed she eventually warms up to you if you just stick around.”

“I see. Well, I can’t say for sure how long I’ll be with you, but I shall study her and give you my conclusions on your theory.  
And, speaking of scientific research, would it be possible for me to once more have a look at the orb which you attained from the Inquest’s possession?”

The sylvari blinks, but then realizes what he’s talking about.  
“Oh, you mean the purple ball?”  
She puts her hand down into her pocket and lifts it up. When they escaped, she only had time to show it to him quickly, where he asked to get a chance to study it later on.  
“It’s not much to look at, but it’s kinda crystal-like, right? Someone said that’s what the Branded are too.”

He nods curtly while his eyes are upon the orb, but he has yet to reach for it.  
“Quite. The exterior appearance, as well as the magical composition from a glance, does seem to be similar, although I would have to do more tests.”  
He finally moves a hand closer to it, but before actually getting all too close, it flares up in a bright pink shade and he gasps, quickly retracting his hand.  
“Great Gadd! That was close.”

Sov also slides backwards a bit, while Dae mostly looks surprised, but she still holds onto the orb.  
“…uh, what just happened?”

“I’m not…entirely certain, but I believe that the orb was attempting to react to my proximity to it and the nature of my essence. I do believe it definitely is of the same components as the Branded now, or at least it seems highly likely.”

Those words don’t make Dae any less nervous of course.  
“Oh…right. Should I uhm, let it go?”

“No no, you should be fine, I believe. Sylvari are rarely affected by Kralkatorrik’s magic and the fact that you seem unperturbed by it may only be further proof of its maker.”

Sov glances in his direction, both curious and suspicious.  
“Sylvari aren’t affected? Why is that?”

He shrugs, moving his hands towards a nearby bag as he begins to search through his belongings to get some device that may be able to contain the orb.  
“No researcher have yet to find any facts and my own are inconclusive, but there are a number of theories.  
The foremost of these believe it may have something to do with the fact that sylvari are plant-based compared to the rest of us, who are closer to the flesh, blood and bone of the various animal species in Tyria.  
Another theory which has many supporters behind it, believe that it has to do with how new sylvari are to the world. According to most historical investigations, there have been several cycles of civilization, where many species rise and fall. It is unknown how quickly the various dragon corruptions adapt, after all.”

As Sov also watches the orb for a little while, Ovillus moves a fastening device around the orb, gently taking it from Dae and putting it safely in a transparent container. He quickly shuts the lid on top and secures it, which allows them to watch the orb without anyone being in danger. Hopefully.  
“Hmm, Kralkatorrik is the…crystal dragon, right?”

“Correct, and the latest to awaken out of the elder ones. It is said that each dragon has two so-called ‘spheres of influence’, which are based upon the magical effect on its minions and the physical alteration of the world itself. Zhaitan is of death and shadow, for example. Most of the others are so far unknown, however, mostly for the fact that they have not been possible to study as much, while Zhaitan’s influence spreads quite far already.”

“Is that because it was the first to awaken?”

“No, that was Primordus, just before Jormag. There are no conclusive measures that explain why Zhaitan has been easier to study, though it may have something to do with its raising of Orr and being able to spread its essence across an entire country.”

Another tragic end for humans, but Sov’s mind is too focused upon the discussion to get saddened at this time.  
“Kralkatorrik and Zhaitan both seem to be…somewhat different when it comes to their magical elements, right? There’s fire, ice, water and then the plant dragon, which could technically be related to the earth as well.”

Ovillus smiles, rather eagerly so.  
“Indeed! I am glad you have made the same conclusion as I have. It is the very reason I came to Ascalon in order to study this latest cataclysmic entity. Kralkatorrik’s abnormal impact on Tyria is most intriguing. In fact, I would say that it differs quite severely from the others; while five of them are all from some specific part of nature, its crystalline composition is unique. On top of this, the corruptive element of its energy appears to have a stronger and quicker spread than most of the other dragons, which affects the landscape on a lot more severe scale, absorbing the land wherever it goes.”

Sov folds her arms, thinking about what he says.  
“Are you sure? I heard that Zhaitan’s death magic has spread quite a lot across Orr as well.”

“Yes, of course, but Orr was also a land that sunk into the bottom of the ocean, getting it closer to Zhaitan’s energy for decades. It was in ruins even before it was raised.  
The Dragonbrand on the other hand, was influenced by the breath of the crystal dragon, altering the landscape immediately. None of the others appear to have such a quickly alternating element as to make this occur.”

He does seem to have a point, and Sov nods slowly as she eyes the orb in the container.  
“That…is probably true. Although, thinking about it, I’m not sure whether I should be fascinated or terrified.”

Ovillus lets out a short laugh.  
“Aye, but perhaps there is wisdom in both aspects. After all, the dragons are both powerful and very intriguing.  
Still, I do intend to study them, especially Kralkatorrik, as only positive results can come from more knowledge.”

“Agreed. If we don’t understand the dragons, we’ll never be able to defeat them.”  
  
He considers this for a moment and then scratches his chin.  
“Yes, though I’m still not as certain if that is even possible as of yet.”

“You’re talking about Destiny’s Edge’s failure?”

He shrugs, his ears shifting slightly in thought.  
“Not solely, but they are certainly included in this concept. The dragons’ powers are immense and with the knowledge that so few have survived from previous generations and that the beasts return once more, it does seem to indicate that it may be completely impossible to fully defeat them. I am certain we shall figure this out with time.”

After having been silent for a little while, Dae suddenly interrupts them.  
“Wow…you two are really lame, huh?”

They both turn to her and look surprised at her exclamation. Sov frowns slightly as she crosses her arms.  
“Excuse me?”

Dae appears quite amused at their reaction and shrugs.  
“Well, you’re just a bunch of bookworms chatting away, really.”

Ovillus is flabbergasted and raises his voice in protest.  
“Bookworms? How…how dare you?! Are you saying there is something wrong with being enthusiastic for the mechanisms and configurations of the world?! I’ll have you know that without the knowledge of such people as me and many other researchers, you would never be able to enjoy the kind of-“

He doesn’t get much further as Dae begins to laugh and raises her hands to stop him.  
“No no no, wait, I get bored just by listening to you!”

Sov sighs and rolls her eyes as Ovillus appears offended, but has no proper way to retort. He seems to be sort of out of his element when it comes to the young sylvari, which amuses her greatly.  
“…fine, then we shall stop talking of this until you’ve left.”

Sov shakes her head.  
“Probably for the best. Dae doesn’t have the same respect for thaumaturgical theory.”

“I noticed! I tell you, imbeciles like this one is why I’ve always had trouble interacting with non-academics.”

Dae begins to smirk as she manages to collect herself enough to speak once more.  
“Oh yeah, about that – where’s your golem?”

It’s difficult to know exactly how an asura thinks or reacts by their facial expressions, but he does blinks and his ears twitches somewhat.  
“My…my what?”

“Your golem! You know, the big metal monsters that your kind always uses? I thought everyone had one.”

He’s almost immediately ready to get a counterargument, although it is probably true that the majority of those in Rata Sum does, at one point or another. His response therefore falters somewhat.  
“Well, uh…that is mostly true, yes. Not every single asura is equipped with a golem, but those within my station tries to acquire one early on.”

“Where’s yours?”

Ovillus begin to fidget and glances down at his equipment instead.  
“It is…not currently in my possession.”

Sov tilts her head, studying him carefully. He does seem nervous in some way or, maybe that’s shame?  
“Was it stolen like your research?”

“Not…stolen, no. I would perhaps say that ‘confiscated’ is a more appropriate term.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?", Dae asks. "Did you steal one?”

He looks up, almost offended at the implication.  
“What? No, certainly not! I would never commit such an act.”

“Well, you’re going to have to explain a bit better, because we’re not getting more than bits and pieces here.”

They see how he sighs and he appears quite unwilling to go into details.  
“I believe it is best if we don’t discuss the full nature of why my golem is not with me. Let us just say that I have certain…problems with the Colleges back home. I am not welcome anymore, or at least not for a time.”

The women share a quick glance, wondering what he might’ve done to deserve such a treatment.  
“Were you exiled?”, Sov inquiries. 

He takes a deep breath and slowly shakes his head, looking quite miserable.  
“Again, I ask that we put this topic aside for the time being. It is…too painful to speak of just yet.”

Dae shrugs, somewhat understanding if it’s too private.  
“Well, as long as you’re not like a mass murderer or something.”

“Oh, by the Eternal Alchemy, no! It is far closer to what one might call a ‘scandalous nature’.”

For now, they have no choice but to leave him be, even if their curiosity rises tremendously. Perhaps they shall find out in time, if he sticks around the team long enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Right, the introduction for Ovillus is mostly done now, although since he's part of the team, he'll obviously get more development in future content._


	25. By the stem

_1323 AE – Northwestern Blazeridge Steppes_

A quiet and mostly empty field extends before their eyes, a rather pleasant sight after having travelled through a mountainous region for the most part of the last two days. As the party have stopped for some rest and something to eat, it gives a few of them a chance to relax or have a bit of fun.  
The silent and untouched area is soon disturbed as several rocks go flying up into the air, propelled seemingly by an invisible force. They last for no more than a few seconds as loud blasting noises are heard from guns being fired and all of the rocks get shattered by the bullets that pierce them. The force that held them up at that point ceases and the pebbles tumble to the ground, disappearing into the thick gathering of yellow grass.

Daeynwe smirks as she spins her smoking pistols around in her hands, whirling to meet the smiling face of her girlfriend.  
“Pretty impressive, huh?”

While the sylvari is standing a bit away, Sovica sits on the ground, her legs folded beneath her as she arches a brow and shrugs momentarily.  
“It was adequate, I suppose.”

Dae gasps, looking offended by the comment as she waves her arms in the air.  
“What?! Didn’t you see? Each of them were right on the mark! Didn’t waste a shot!”

“Yes, I noticed, but that was to be expected, right? If you hadn’t succeeded with it, I would’ve been disappointed, coming from such an ‘expert gunslinger’ such as yourself.”

Sov winks teasingly and Dae rolls her eyes as she wanders back to where the human is seated. It’s not just on the grass itself actually, as Dae has offered her jacket for Sov to rest on. It seems to be some way for her to make ‘sacrifices’ for the woman she cares about.  
“Well, I guess you have a point. What will it take to actually impress you then?”

“Hmm…”  
She strokes a hand along her chin, looking around the area, but having difficulties finding a good challenge.  
“I dunno. Maybe if you manage to successfully use them to blast dinner down from the sky?”

“What, like a bird?”

“Something like that, yes. They’ve got a lot more mobility than me using my magic to float rocks for you.”

Dae can see the point, although she realizes that she has never actually tried doing something like that.  
“That is good challenge and I should probably try it. Who knows, maybe I’m an expert in that field too!”

“I think you’ll find that hunting is a lot more difficult than just aiming and shooting, little leaf.”  
The voice comes from behind, joined by heavy footsteps. Looking over their shoulders, they notice how Rea and Razok are approaching, the norn obviously being the one who spoke.  
“Trust me, I’ve got experience with projectiles far slower than those pistols of yours.”

Dae smirks towards Rea somewhat confidently.  
“Well, why don’t you give me a chance to prove it, huh? You’ve got the hunting skills and I’m the number one pistol pioneer! Together, we could be unstoppable!”

Rea chuckles gently and shakes her head.  
“I wouldn’t mind trying it out at some point, though I believe you might have some trouble with how loud those things are.”

“Pff, who cares about noise? My shots are so quick that they won’t have a chance to react before I’ve got ‘em!”

“Uh, I think you’re underestimating the effect of perception in a good hunt…”

While the ladies argue about the process of hunting correctly, Razok’s eyes are stuck on the weapons which Dae still keeps in her hands. Without thinking about it, he interrupts them when he voices his interest.  
“Hmm, those guns of yours, Dae, they’re rather fascinating.”

The sylvari immediately brightens as she raises and spins them around in her hands.  
“I know, right? They’re awesome!”

“Mind if I have a closer look at one?”

She rises and steps over to him, holding onto the barrel as she offers it with handle first.  
“Go right ahead.”

He takes the pistol into his grasp, turning and twisting it around as he examines it with a keen eye for this kind of weaponry. The others, just as eager to hear his conclusions, remain silent.  
“Curious, indeed. Never seen this kind of design before.”  
Raising a claw, he points along different parts as he speaks.  
“The handle and trigger are clearly modelled after asuran creations, probably to increase the velocity and the reload speed. On the other hand, the design of the barrel as well as these blades protruding from beneath are very distinctively of charr design. We know a little bit more about how to adjust accuracy, spread and explosive impact.  
Not necessarily the typical choices of materials or colors but, still easily recognizable. Where did you go to buy this sort of thing?”

As she gets it back, she spins them one last time before planting them into their holsters by her belt.  
“Nowhere, because I didn’t. They were made for me by a friend.”

“Made? You know a talented engineer?”

Dae’s face shines up into a mix of pride and excitement.  
“Yup! My mentor and big sister, Veilidh.”

Both him and Sov look surprised, although for different reasons.  
“Whoa, you’re saying this was made by a sylvari? Huh, I haven’t met a lot of your people with extraordinary technical comprehension. Guess I missed out on that.”

Dae grins, placing her hands confidently at her hips.  
“She’s pretty great, yeah. That’s always been her thing, though, as she has studied technology and mechanics ever since she awakened. At least, that’s what she told me.”

Sov is far more interested in another aspect, however, gently poking Dae’s leg.  
“Hold on, you’ve never told me of a big sister. Who is this Veilidh?”

The sylvari sounds quite eager to speak of it and sits back down next to Sov.  
“Haven’t I? Hmm, must’ve slipped my mind then. I think you’ve just distracted me too much with how cute you are.”

Sov rolls her eyes with a small smile on her lips, poking Dae to tickle her a bit.  
“Alright, fine, I’ll grant you that much. But you have the chance to tell me now. I mean, I didn’t even know your people could have siblings.”

“Of course we can! Well, in a way. All sylvari are family in the sense that we’re all born from the Pale Tree. That doesn’t mean we all feel the same connection to each other, of course, but it can help to make stronger bonds. That was the case between me and Veilidh.  
I had some…trouble with my awakening and Veil was there to help me. Ever since, she and I have kept close and the first months I spent in Caledon was by her side. She started as my mentor, but eventually, we grew close enough that I might as well call her my sister.”

“Sounds quite fascinating. Tell me a little bit about her.”

The other two are still there, but remain silent as they let the two women hold the conversation.  
“Well, first of all, she’s a Thirdborn and awakened during the Cycle of Dusk.”

Sov tilts her head slightly, finding another curiosity.  
“Hmm…’Thirdborn’? I thought your people only counted the Firstborn by a specific generation.”

“Heh, yeah, that’s true for the most part, although the Secondborn are also often mentioned as their generation ushered in a huge increase of sylvari. ‘Thirdborn’ is never actually used by anyone officially, but I’ve decided to call Veil and the ones who awakened with her that, as she has told me she arrived in the next batch after the Secondborn.”

“Huh. I suppose that makes sense, yeah.”

Dae’s hands travel from where she's sitting and one of them captures Sov’s while she speaks.  
“Being of the Cycle of Dusk, she’s quite inquisitive, analytical and intelligent. She likes to study anything new and unexplored, learning as much as possible.”

This seems to amuse Sov somewhat, who moves her free hand to tickle the sylvari once more, making her giggle.  
“If she’s your sister, I think you could learn a little bit from that patience.”

“Hah, stop it!”  
Dae pushes the hand away, but still holds onto the one she seized previously, playing with Sov’s fingers.  
“But yes, while we do have a lot of subjects in common, we are definitely different people. She likes to travel as well, but I prefer to almost constantly see new lands, while she enjoys stopping and studying new finds along the way. That’s why we don’t journey together.”

“And she made your guns?”

“She did, yes.”  
Dae raises a hand to gesture towards the charr.  
“She’s an engineer, like Raz, and she has studied with both the asura and the charr. I believe she has checked with a few other individuals, but she prefers to learn the basics and then find her own path. Although, she did mention that she joined the Durmand Priory at some point, so I guess she’s not completely independent, like me.”

That organization is very familiar to Sov, being a group she has definitely given some consideration to joining as well. If it wasn’t for her family, she might have done so by now.  
“What’s she like as a person? Is she nice? Funny?”

“Mm, I think I’ll go with kind, investigative and charismatic. She’s got some notions of leadership, I think. At least there are a lot of people who respect her. For instance, she’s associated with some of the Firstborn, like Caithe and Trahearne. It’s through Veil that I met Caithe in the first place.  
Although, she can also be way too stubborn and single-minded when it comes to completing a task she has set for herself.”

Sov smiles, shaking her head slightly. Some of those traits aren’t completely removed from Dae, although it can’t be claimed that the younger sylvari is much of a leader, nor looks to be one. She can definitely be overly courageous, though, which is something Sov recalls all too well from the Shiverpeaks.  
“You two get along well then, I assume.”

“Of course! Like I said, we’re very close, practically siblings.  
She’s taught me a lot about how to survive on my own, how to defend myself and protect other people, and obviously how to act around the other races of Tyria. Well, the basics anyway.”

“Yeah, I think you still have some things to learn about that last bit…”

Dae looks amused.  
“I don’t know about that. Managed to charm a certain human quite well with what little things I know of your people.”

Sov turns away somewhat, trying to hide her embarrassment with a giggle.  
“Okay, I guess you’re not completely inept.”

“Thanks for noticing.”

Their hands are now completely intertwined, fingers rubbing against one another affectionately and Sov peers down to study them, giving her something to focus on.  
“So, when will I get the chance to meet this big sister of yours?”

“Not sure. I guess it depends where she is. Veil tends to travel a lot, just like me, so it’s not impossible that we run into her along the way.”

“Where was she when you last heard from her?”

Dae runs her free hand in a contemplative manner through her leafy hair.  
“Uh, can’t say I quite remember. I think it was somewhere in Kryta, though. She was doing some kind of excavation in the Kessex Hills, I believe. Can’t say I was interested in staying either, as she was babbling about some historical research or…whatever.”

Sov pulls her head back and laughs in a gentle manner.  
“Why am I not surprised?”

“But hey, if you come with me to the Grove at some point, I’m sure she’ll be around. She always comes home every few months between her adventures. She likes seeing how the new generations are doing and to say hello to the Pale Mother.”  
Dae leans forward, capturing Sov’s chin, making the human face her and share a gaze.  
“Although, I wonder if she might not get jealous, for not having a Sovica of her own.”

At first, Sov arches a brow at the implication, before smirking at the obvious attempt at flirting once more. She won’t get embarrassed at every little thing the sylvari says. Instead, she raises a hand and pokes Dae’s nose playfully.  
“I think you’re overestimating me a little bit. I’m not that remarkable.”

“Tsk, you don’t know how wrong you are, my precious fire lily.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Wrote this chapter for two reasons:_   
>  _1) I like Daeynwe and Sovica interacting_   
>  _2) Wanted to present Veilidh somewhere, as she's quite an important character_   
>  _I guess it was kinda shameless but, yeah, Veilidh is my Pact Commander, although obviously a different version than from what we see in-game. I intend to write a story with her later on, so, wanted to get a chapter out which mentions her. It also helped explain more about who Dae keeps close in her life._


	26. Crystal blight

_1323 AE – The Dragonbrand, Blazeridge Steppes_

A foul biting stench enters their nostrils, quite clinical and sharp, like a disinfectant. Ravaged vegetation on a greying soil, sporadically tainted by a bright pink or violet mixture, shimmering like scars. Oozing black clouds, waves along with the streams of air that blows across the area. Sovica feels how her hands tremble and she has to actually put in some effort to push them together and stop them from continuing. This area deeply unsettles her, enough that these physical signs appear on her body.

Ovillus takes a few steps ahead of the others as they’ve stopped, gesturing widely with his right arm across the thick lined area, stretching hundreds of meters wide and miles long.  
“This is it – this is the Dragonbrand, created by Kralkatorrik about three years ago.”

Sov attempts to figure out what old Ascalonian settlements or landmarks may have been made along this long stretch of devastation, but without checking her old maps and discussing it with her fellow historians back home, it’s hard to say. It’s a blight on the land, and that’s probably what matters.  
“It’s…horrifying to think how much destruction it caused.”

Another person who looks rather grimly at it is Razok as he nods in agreement.  
“Yeah, that thing swept through our defenses like they were nothing. A lot of good people were lost, a few outposts and villages just completely annihilated, without care. The reports were…disturbing, to say the least.”

The Svalen sisters, standing around the back as they can look over the rest, does not appear to be unfazed by it either, nor does Grawdr. He may be silent now, but has constantly showed his discomfort with the occasional growl or grunt before they even got here.  
Rea snorts, shaking her head.  
“Well, this isn’t utterly dismal or anything.”

Katla nods, agreeing with her sister’s sarcasm as she folds her arms.  
“Yeah. Those creatures out there kinda remind me of the Icebrood, too.”

Rea gives her a cautious look, but there may be a point in what she says. Even if they’re still rather far away, they can see beings transformed by the crystal dragon, wandering around aimlessly. They appear to have gone through a similar conversion as the ground beneath them.  
“True enough, although even Jormag didn’t change the land this much. There was always snow and ice on the Shiverpeaks – it just seemed to be another part of the climate. This Kralkatorrik has invaded Ascalon and tried to change it into the dragon’s image.”

“I guess you're right.”

Currently, it is Daeynwe who has been given custody of the orb they stole from the Inquest, as she did not seem to be influenced by it, despite that it’s held in a container. She has lifted it out of her backpack and holds it up, seeing how it appears to be affected as well.  
“Hey uh, Ovillus? This orb...it’s glowing more than it did before.”

The asura glances over at her, stroking a hand under his chin, but soon nods knowingly.  
“Mm, that is not entirely unanticipated. After all, we are very close in vicinity to the very essence of its creator. It seems like a plausible explanation to me that it is being attracted to what it may originally belong to.”

“Right. That sounds kinda worrying. Like, it has a mind of its own or something.”

“I doubt it is something so drastic, but magic does have a rather deep connection between objects of the same basic core. I believe that is certainly the truth in regard to the elder dragons.”

While she listens, Sov continues to watch the field, observing the creatures walking around upon it. It’s far from easy to see them in detail from this distance, but if she had to guess, she’d say that most of them are probably charr. There are signs of smaller beings among them, which are likely human. Were they taken and transformed by others of that nature, or just unlucky enough to be too close when the scar was created?  
“If this is true, does that mean there’s a risk it might draw the Branded to us?”

Ovillus gains a contemplative frown on his face, putting his hands behind his back as he rolls his thumbs in thought.  
“Hmm, I would not think that this is the case, but of course, I have no research or tests to base such a hypothesis upon.”

Katla frowns slightly as she gazes down upon her companions.  
“I don’t recommend we try it either.”

“Of course not, I wasn’t suggesting it! Just…it would certainly be a fascinating discovery.”

Raz narrows his eyes somewhat, spotting creatures walking across the scar into so far untainted territory and raises a hand into the air.  
“By the way, just a recommendation, but try to keep it down a bit. I’ve been here before and these creatures are more perceptive than people might believe.”

The asura turns his way, but shrugs, looking rather unimpressed.  
“Perhaps to a certain degree, but they should not have any specifically heightened senses. In terms of auditory development, they are far from comparable to the dredge or even my own kind.”

This earns a derisive snort from the charr.  
“Well, unless you’ve forgotten, some Branded _are_ asura.”

Ovillus frowns towards him, ears twitching in annoyance. A similar motion comes from the multiple pairs of Raz.  
“Yes, thank you, I’m quite aware of our unfortunate mutually forced transformation. But this also means that I am quite capable of calculating their auditory range, with our current location as well as the wind’s motion.”

“Tsk. Listen, buddy, I was born in this land and I’ve been scouting these steppes for over ten years now. Think I know a little bit more than-“

Rea sighs heavily, putting her foot down in between them.  
“Alright, break it off, you two. If you continue arguing like this, you’ll definitely make yourselves known. Fourth rule of hunting: be quiet when you’ve spotted your prey.”

Both of them look somewhat startled and a little bit shamed. Ovillus clears his throat, stepping back from the charr, while Raz inclines his head at Rea.  
“Sorry.”

Her stern gaze quickly shifts to a smile as she pats his shoulder.  
“No worries. Even brilliant minds can use a little bit of outside perspective, I’m sure.”

“It seems so, yeah.”

While this happens, Sov remains next to Dae and she looks intently at the scarred land in front of her. Ignoring the rest and whatever they’re talking about, she closes her eyes and raises a hand towards the ground’s direction. Invisible to the others, she reaches out with her mind and magic, trying to connect with the elements in the area.  
A few moments later, she gasps, eyes shooting open and she takes several involuntary steps backwards in shock.  
Dae, who had sort of been shifting her gaze between her and the rest of the team, suddenly let's go of any thoughts of their conversation and quickly wraps her arms around Sov, offering a rather worried embrace.  
“Sovica! Wh-what’s wrong?”

Sov shuts her eyes again, grimacing as she raises a hand and rubs her forehead.  
“Damn, that was…quite painful.”

The others notice what’s happening, diverting their attentions to the human, while Dae speaks.  
“What were you doing?”

“I was trying to reach out for the elements, but it didn’t go so well.”

“Oh? What happened?”

She takes a deep breath, looking up again to watch the ground in front of her. It seems that nothing has altered, despite her intrusion.  
“It’s…difficult to say. Usually, I tend to hear noises which we associate with the elements – rushing water, howling wind, rumbling rocks or the crackling of a fire. I heard none of those from the Dragonbrand. It sounded more like…screams in the form of shattering glass. It was terrible.”

Dae looks at her with mixed emotions of concern and sorrow, putting a hand behind her beloved’s head and pulls her closer. The embrace turns rather protective.  
“It’s alright, it won’t hurt you. I won’t let it.”

While she’s not exactly afraid of it, Sovica accepts the gesture and lets it comfort her.  
“I know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Because I'm totally shit and can't stop making new stories, I thought I'd let anyone know who may read this story that I intend to start a GW1 fic pretty soon, which will of course appear on this profile. If anyone remembers the mentioning of Miljana in the first chapter, then...well yeah, it's about her, Sovica's ancestor, one of the Ascendants. Basically, it's going to be her journey through it, together with a (diverse) crew that I'll be creating. It will have at least one canon character among those, but most are OCs (as is usually the case with me)._


	27. Flickering embers

_1313 AE – Northeastern Snowden Drifts, Shiverpeak Mountains_

The severe and quite harsh snowstorm that has been spewing over most of Eir’s path for the past day or two, has finally abated, allowing her to continue towards her goal in a quicker and more manageable speed. Hunting in those sorts of weathers are never impossible, just requiring a bit more work, but she tends to prefer not to do so. However, her current journey has nothing to do with a hunt, but rather a chase after a particular individual in hopes of catching up in time, before it’s too late.

Thanks to Garm, she has been able to find the proper path whenever the tracks weren’t doing much for her, as the wolf’s sense of smell is still as sharp as ever.  
One thing the storm did aid her with, though, is block out the possibility of enemies finding her very easily. Most ways to perceive her and Garm would’ve been difficult and seeing as how she has heard all too many rumors of Icebrood in the area, that was probably a good thing.

Now that things are clearer to her, however, and the area around them lies almost completely silent, distant noises are easier to perceive. She knows what she’s looking for and she has believed for several hours now that she can’t be far behind. How quick does one angry warrior move anyway?  
That’s when Garm’s ears poke upwards and his eyes attempts to find the origin. Not quite hearing it herself, Eir kneels down by his side.  
“What is it? Can you hear her?”  
He emits a curt grunt, enough of an affirmative sign to her.  
“Alright, go ahead. Take us to her swiftly.”

Garm rushes off through the snow, past the hill they were going to ascend and heads in a direction further to the north.  
After several more minutes of moving in a rather quick pace, Eir can finally hear it as well. Distant growls, the clashing of steel against steel and upset groans and shouts. Along the way, Eir passes by one of the first victims – some sort of corpse of a humanoid creature, dressed in quite heavy armor across most of their body, with what little flesh showing being unnaturally pale. Along with this, their arms and part of their boots are covered in icy spikes. She has seen it before, many times in fact – Jormag’s corruption.

Eir doesn’t stop to take a closer look and instead keeps running, drawing her bow in case she needs it. A couple of more dead dragon minions are laid out across the area, not so much as a sign to anything, but still proof of quite recent combat.  
It's when she runs past a few trees and spots another hill that she finally finds her. Her target is surrounded by four Icebrood warriors, one of them in quite a large beast form, shaped like a miniature icy dragonesque being. Eir is still too far away for her arrows to hit, so she decides to focus on running. Why does this young fool insist on getting herself into trouble like this? It’s why senseless vengeance is never the way.

“Katla!”

She tries to get the Guardian’s attention, but Katla is far too focused on her battle. Not out of an instinct for survival, but out of rage. The large two-handed blade with several shimmering runes on top of its flat side is unfamiliar to Eir, as is most of the magical signets that she seems to utilize right now. When they’ve battled against united foes in the past, Katla utilized mostly one-handed weapons accompanied by a shield, being the wall of plate and meat that stood in between her companions and whatever foe they had to fight. In the past several months that she hasn’t seen either of them, things must’ve changed for the worse.

It's not that the younger norn needs much help, however. Her blade swings around, parrying most of the blows and delivering devastating strikes to limbs and torsos, accompanied by the occasional punch or kick. With the light surging around her from the rituals and spells she has cast, she’s quite a sight to see. A fearsome one, perhaps, but one Eir would usually find quite admirable. At this time, she’s mostly afraid that her friend won’t make it, though.

She finally reaches an appropriate range for her arrows and Garm has caught up to Katla enough that he can aid her in close combat. By the time she has her first arrow up, however, one Icebrood has already fallen and a second is on its way. She decides to concentrate on the larger beast-like creature, putting a few piercing shots into its hide.  
Katla is so stuck in her own battle that she at first turns around and glares at whomever it is that comes from behind, before she notices Eir. She gives the ranger a hesitant gaze, before ignoring her to continue the fight. The adrenaline is what keeps her standing, despite actually receiving a few dangerous blows. Eir is certain that her friend is more capable than this, and probably should’ve brought a shield to protect herself.

Another minute or so, and their foes are all dead on the ground. What blood has been spilt comes to a minimum, seeing as how Jormag’s minions are completely frozen. Only the occasional shard of ice lies half-buried in the snow.  
Katla keeps the grip around her greatsword tight for a few moments and Eir notices that she’s breathing quite heavily.  
“Are you okay?”

Katla slowly turns her head to glance over her shoulder and that’s when Eir widens her own eyes in shock.  
Running diagonally from her left cheek, down over her chin and to the top of her neck is a large and rather nasty scar. It’s hard to say exactly what might have caused it – either a claw or some kind of sharp weapon, like a sword or an axe. Whatever it was, it must’ve done quite a bit of damage.  
Eir swiftly regrets her reaction however, as Katla looks away.  
“I’m fine.”

Her voice is cold and unwelcoming. Eir had heard what kind of effect the recent terrible event had on Katla, but no one had told her of the physical side of it. Not that it adversely affected the ranger, but she feels sorry that this pain has taken a permanent manifestation on her friend.  
“I-I’m sorry I didn’t come sooner. I was looking for you and-“

“Why are you here?”

Katla begins to dust off her blade, removing any leftovers that she may have gained from their foes. Garm stands not far from her side, but keeps his distance just in case. Even he appears to understand the Guardian’s emotional state.  
“I wanted to see you, of course. Rea asked me to come.”  
No immediate response and Eir is unsure whether she’s ignoring her or not.  
“I…I heard what happened. This is a travesty, Katla, and I’m deeply regretful I wasn’t there. My condolences for your loss.”

“A hero can’t be everywhere, I guess.”

The tone displays her bitterness, but Eir doesn’t allow it to deter her. Katla still refuses to look at her, though.  
“This whole ordeal…it must’ve been difficult for you. I know it has hit Rea hard and I understand completely. I have lost friends and family as well. It is never easy.”  
Katla snorts derisively, but says nothing. Eir takes it as an opportunity to continue. She had heard how difficult it would be to get through to her but, Rea at least had hopes it might work.  
“When was the last time you saw your sister?”

She displays a brief shrug, rather uncaring.  
“Dunno. Weeks, maybe.”

“And you’re fine with that?”

“We both have different perspectives of what needs to be done. If she wants to go her own way, that’s fine with me.”

Eir looks unsure, saddened to hear her speak like this. The two of them should be together, not divided.  
“And what if it isn’t? Don’t you think that in these times, you two should stick together?”

“Not if she considers hiding in a homestead and crying all day to be a worthwhile activity.”

Eir sighs, shaking her head sadly.  
“Katla…you know that’s not what she’s doing.”

“No? You’re saying she didn’t cry last time you saw her?”

“That’s…that’s not the point. She’s filled with sorrow, so naturally she will express that in some way. But she misses you. She doesn’t want you to do this all on your own. It’s irresponsible and self-destructive.”

Letting out a short laugh, Katla plants her blade into the snow, keeping one hand at the top of the hilt.  
“So, I’m the irresponsible one, am I? I don’t recall ever running away from a kid that belongs to me.”

Eir opens her mouth, but no sound escapes. She didn’t think the younger norn would go for such a relatively low blow and it makes Eir frown, but she needs to hold it back. Katla is still angry, and it’s understandable.  
“Listen, I know how filled with rage you are, Katla, and it’s reasonable to be, but does it really have to extend to your family as well? Do you think Birg-“

 _“Don’t_ say their names.”

Her voice is raised, sharp and thoroughly agitated. The sorrow in the depths of it is almost palpable and it helps to wash away any damage Eir might’ve felt for the previous jab.  
“You’re grieving, Katla and I’m not going to blame you for that. But would they want you to act this way? To see you hurt those you love?”

There’s silence between them for several seconds and Eir is unsure whether the Guardian is trying to contemplate her response, or perhaps if she finally got through to her.  
But then, Katla turns to her, rather swiftly, with her hair swirling in the light wind. She glares at Eir and takes a few steps towards her. While they’re on even ground, she’s still at least a head taller than the ranger.  
“You don’t understand what happened, do you? You weren’t there, Eir.”

She tries to stand her ground, obviously having holstered her bow for now.  
“I may not have been, but Rea told me of the events.”

“You think that makes you able to comprehend what we’ve seen? What we’ve experienced? The Icebrood killed them, Eir, in cold blood! While others dragged my wounded, useless body away, I saw the fucking bastards slaughter both of them without remorse, without any understanding!”

Eir swallows slightly, biting her lower lip for a moment. She has seen many being killed by the minions before and it’s hard really to blame their lack of compassion – the elder dragons don’t exactly understand empathy or feelings.  
“I know and that is a terrible event. I will mourn both of them for as long as I live, but that does not mean-“

 _“NO!”_  
Katla stomps down with one foot in front of Eir and pushes her face very close to the ranger’s. Eir can feel the warm breath upon her face now, and the sadness in Katla’s voice spills out in between the anger.  
“Don’t you fucking see? _It was my fault!"_

“Katla…”

She places a hand upon Eir’s shoulder and squeezes.  
“I wanted to protect that village, I wanted to help defend them against the minions. And I fucked up!"  
  
"You were injured, Katla! You did everything you could and you can't possibly be blamed for everything, when you tried your best."  
  
Katla grits her teeth, eyes falling downwards.  
"My best? My useless 'best effort' got them both killed!"

Eir tries to ignore the pain of the fingers digging into her skin and gently puts her own hand on top of Katla’s.  
“You know that neither of them would feel that way. Do you think they would be so petty as to blame you for something like this? Birger and Hulda never did anything they did not believe in. You were both like daughters to them and if you wanted to protect that village, then so did they.”

Katla’s frown deepens just a small bit, her jaw tightening.  
“So, what, you think I should just let this be? Go back and let these murderers roam freely?”

Trying her best to let Katla ease her grip, Eir sighs and puts her other hand on top of the Guardian’s arm, rubbing it gently.  
“No, that’s not what I’m saying. But these aren’t simple criminals, Katla. They’re a menace across the mountains, minions of the dragon. While I find it admirable that you want to stop them, it won’t help by killing random groups like this and endanger yourself. You have to focus that effort on a more significant target.  
Come with me, return to Rea and let us speak of what we can do together.”

While the word has some kind of impact, it is not enough. Katla shakes her head slowly, looking away once more. She does finally let go of Eir, at least.  
“No. I won’t be like you. I’m not going to lie still until I’ve utterly destroyed these bastards. If I have to hunt them every fucking day, I will.”

Eir doesn’t loosen her own grip, though, trying to keep Katla with her, although not all too harshly.  
“Listen to yourself. You’re acting without reason, without a proper plan. I’m also angry, outraged by this atrocity. They were my friends, as you are very well aware of, but this rage that you’re building inside of you, it…it will consume you. You have to reign it in.”  
Her tone softens, and her voice lowers as she strokes Katla’s forearm.  
“Please, let me help you.”

For a few moments, it almost feels as if it might work, as the tension she has so clearly displayed during this entire encounter seems to slowly dissipate. Perhaps Rea was right after all and Eir might’ve been the solution.  
Unfortunately, that conclusion is too hasty. Suddenly, Katla swats both hands away, returning to her blade and pulls it out from the snow as she lifts it up to holster it and pulls her coat tighter around her.  
“Stick to the warmth of your cowardly cities in the south, Stegalkin. I have work to do.”

Feeling there is nothing else she can currently offer, Eir bites her lip in sorrow and regret, watching her friend, practically her little sister, wandering back out into the snowy wasteland.  
Having witnessed the deaths of both her own parents, and now her foster parents, has had a profound impact on Katla. It has changed her once again, but this time to a more severe degree than the first. Or perhaps merely the union of the two is what fills her with such despair. She has become like a spirit of retribution.  
Garm emits a mournful howl as the wind joins them once more.


	28. Not to discard

_1323 AE – The Dragonbrand, Blazeridge Steppes_

Having travelled in its vicinity for the past two days, the fear of the Dragonbrand has somewhat abated among the group. It may have been replaced by a clear sense of unease, but that is at least something they can handle, some more so than others. Despite their consensus of how to treat the thick corruption, they have realized now that they need to pass over it in order to proceed to their destination. They could follow its length all the way down to the Crystal Desert in order to go around it, of course, but that just seems kind of…excessive.

As expected, it is Katla who takes the first step onto the unpleasant purple or pink soil, making sure that it’s safe to walk on for the rest. Ovillus has already done so in the past, but even he does not wish to take risks.  
They all wait in silence as the Guardian wanders out over it, one hand clenched and ready to grab her weapon just in case. What concerns her the most happens to be some of the big crystals seemingly buried around the area, most of them rather thick and some even glowing.  
However, several meters out over its ground, nothing has occurred, nor does the area seem disturbed. Perhaps this sort of precaution was a bit overzealous. She glances over her shoulder and shrugs.

“Guess they’re not home.”

Ovillus raises a hand to stroke his chin in thought.  
“It is possible that that the Branded have wandered elsewhere, but I have listened to disconcerting tales regarding travelers being ambushed out of nowhere.”

Daeynwe looks down at the asura and smirks, placing hands at her hips.  
“What, afraid of a little bit of stained dirt?”

He frowns up a her.  
“This is not just some simple discoloration, you imbecile! The dragon’s essence courses through this entire region!”

“Does that mean it’ll get hurt if I stab the ground?”

Ovillus raises a hand to rub at the bridge of his nose as he groans, almost in a pained fashioned.  
“Tell me you’re not being serious.”

Sovica smiles, quite amused by her girlfriend’s behavior.  
“She’s just messing with you, professor. Dae tends to be that way.”  
With the wink that the sylvari sends Sov, she feels pretty safe in her assumption of being correct.

“Well, could you tell her to cease such absurdity? It is fairly aggravating. Oh, and also, I am not actually a prof-“

Before he finishes his sentence, the other Svalen walks right past them, with Grawdr close to her side.  
“Stop arguing and let’s get a move on already. The faster we act, the sooner we’ll get past this stupid thing.”

Razok follows after her, smiling over his shoulder.  
“She’s right, ya know. Let’s get this done.”

The trio sends each other a quick look and then pursues the taller people, hoping that they’ll provide some cover.  
As they still don’t trust their surroundings, they move through the hundreds of meters in width that it encompasses in a fairly cautious and slow manner. Katla walks at the front, with Grawdr now at her side. Just behind them are Raz and Rea side by side, with Ovillus positioned behind them, and the two lovers keeping his back clear. While they can’t see any hostile movement, the air does feel rather heavy around them. Both Sov and Ovillus theorizes that it may have something to do with whatever black smoke oozes out of the ground in certain places, and while Rea is skeptical whether or not it’s poisonous in some fashion, they don’t sense their strength diminishing in any way.

The tension they feel rises suddenly when Katla stops in the front and raises a hand to the hilt of her blade. A few second passes by as most of them hold their breaths, but when nothing occurs, Rea speaks up.  
“Katla, what’s wrong?”

Just a second afterwards, they hear a cracking noise from the north and their eyes divert to the large crystals. They see how one of them begins to shatter and pieces of it flies in all directions. A fairly large Branded minion lands within their view and, by the looks of it, being of charr origin.  
Katla pulls her greatsword out from its sheath and the polar bear growls menacingly.  
“We’ve got company.”

All of them prepare weapons, which proves to be a smart move when the rest of the dozen or so crystals spread out across a hundred-meter radius around them, all begins to shatter. They didn’t seem harmless earlier, but none of them had expected that enemies would actually be lying in wait.  
Ovillus clears his throat.  
“I suppose…this might be the cause of the disappearances I mentioned.”

Rea doesn’t wait for the enemy to act and instead draws one of her arrows, firing straight at a human-sized Branded and pierces its chest. The shot is quick and precise enough to make it stumble backwards and fall to the ground.  
“No time to get skittish! We have to fight our way to freedom.”

As some of the Branded run straight in their direction, Katla positions herself in front of everyone, and her feet begins to glow for a moment as she gathers magic. She raises one of them and stomps the ground, making a circle forms around her, with several runes appearing within it. As soon as any of the Branded enters, they growl in pain as the ground beneath them suddenly starts to hurt. Straight after that, they’re met with Katla’s large blade that severs the head of the first one. Brutal and efficient, as always.

At the same time, Rea orders Grawdr to help her pave the way for them to the side, so that they can cross the brand, but also makes sure that her companion does not try to bite any of them. She’d rather not know what their flesh might do to his belly. His sharp claws should be enough, anyhow.  
Unfortunately, the Branded are more cunning than they first realized and the ground beneath them begins to shake, as more enemies dig themselves to the surface. Corrupted devourers, asura and rock dogs appear, more than doubling the number of foes they have to face.

Dae and Raz comes onto the battlefield through a flurry of attacks. Raz decides to forego his turrets, as he does not wish to abandon them out here, and instead deploys a mine behind them, which blows up at least two hasty enemies. His rifle comes in handy as well, of course.  
Dae unsheathes both of her swords and spins around, easily cutting her opponents down through precise means and sliding past most of their pretty sluggish attacks. With one particularly large charr, she merely ducks beneath his huge arm and then stabs both blades though his back, kicking him forward into the ground when it’s done.

Ovillus becomes surrounded by a dark aura as he gathers necromantic essence from the fallen, and his own black and green magic almost shrouds whatever smoke that oozes from the Dragonbrand. At least two minions growl in fear and pain as the energy of death begins to hurt and choke them.

Sov isn’t as sure what she’s supposed to do at first, as she isn’t able to draw from the earth, nor does she have much of a fire spell ready. However, looking up, she can see that the sky is still clear for the most part and there is a light breeze. Reaching out, she can sense the elemental sources within and she lifts her hand in order to gather them to her cause. Raz glances over his shoulder just in time to see how wind begins to form around Sov’s body, swaying her clothes within its midst.  
However, when she opens her eyes, they are suddenly sparking with blue energy and the wind takes another shape in her hands – lightning erupts from them, trying to resist her hold and break free. She tames whatever rebellious nature they hold and then turns it on her enemies. As three different Branded comes up from behind, she whirls around and a chain of it passes through each of them, making their bodies arch and vibrate from the damage they sustain. At least two soon drop down, dead on the ground.

Despite that these foes are nothing more than grunts, the charr finds himself rather impressed by her display of power. It reminds him of some of the shamans he has both fought beside and against. The Flame Legion are rather famous for them, after all.  
It is during this momentary distraction that disaster strikes. He and the others does not notice a hole in their defenses, which a few of the Branded decides to exploit, by digging up from the ground in the right spot. It is not individual power that the minions rely on, but overwhelming force. They just keep sending troops until someone gets lucky and break their foes’ defenses.  
This happens now, as a few devourers fire projectiles towards them, which hit Rea once in the arm, but even worse, Raz gets struck several times in the leg and his lower back. The charr growls in pain and anger, stumbling forward and trying to twist his body around before he falls. He fires with his rifle, hitting one of his oncoming foes, but misses the devourers.

Rea, sharing some of Katla’s toughness, tears out what pierced her arm and grits her teeth to resist the pain, before she looks to her companion.  
“Raz! Hold on, I’m coming!”  
She fires several arrows towards their enemies, killing one before the other retreats and tries to find backup.  
“Sovi, we’ve got a casualty!”

Shaking off the power of the wind, Sov widen her eyes and then rushes over to his side.  
“What happened?”

As he speaks, Raz seems to growl at the same time.  
“Those damn bastards ambushed me!”

Rea calls in Grawdr and Dae to help reinforce her position.  
“Treat him while we cover you, Sovi!”

The human nods in agreement and kneels down to check the damage. Raz tries to resist and get up again, but can’t move his leg.  
“C-come on, I’m…I’m fine! We gotta keep moving!”

Sov does her best to push him down, however, which she’s mostly successful with. His strength is waning, after all.  
“No, lie still, Raz. I have to assess your damage and see if I can heal you.”

“But…”

“Don’t fight me on this. I’m the healer here, remember?”

He doesn’t give her a proper response, instead just sighing and nodding grimly.  
As he’s wearing leather clothes, she can easily pull some of it away in order to access the injuries. While he’s lying with his stomach to the earth, she sees how some rather unpleasant dark purple crystal-like projectiles have pierced his leg and she senses the foul energy emitting from them. Not good to see, and she will most likely have to act quickly, hoping that he doesn’t get affected by it.

Similarly to when they first met, Sov picks up her bottle of water, removes the top and uses her magic to make the liquid slowly float through the air, following her instructions. Her first move is not to immediately heal him, however, but to remove the projectiles. The water slips in past his flesh and tries to reach the tip of the weapons in order to push them outwards. The process is rather painful for the charr and he grits his fangs even further, body shaking somewhat.  
“What…what’s going on?!”

“Just…be patient. This is a delicate procedure, so please don’t disturb me.”

The others face even more Branded and fear being overwhelmed, but they hold out for as long as they can. Katla herself is able to stack up the body count from her position, pretty much alone. Fighting dragon spawn like this is something she got used to up in the mountains years ago.

Only half a minute pass by as Sov gently pulls the crystalline items from her companion and once she holds them in the air through the water, she observes them momentarily, before tossing them away. She wants nothing to do with such foul energy.  
After that, she proceeds to heal Raz’s wounds, which thankfully, is a lot more pleasant sensation. It stings for sure, but doesn’t hurt him.

“I believe I’ve removed all of the splinters from your body and I sense no corruption in your skin either. You will need to rest, though, I’m afraid. I’ll ask Rea to help pull you out and we’ll make camp when we’re further away from this cursed ground.”

Raz feels mostly relieved to hear that the corruption hasn’t entered him. He shows a rather weak smile towards her while she heals him.  
“So...here we are again, huh? You fixing me up after I’ve been foolish.”

At that, Sov looks up and into his eyes, and compared to last time, she returns the expression.  
“Yes, I suppose you’re right. But, hey, we’re a team now and I wouldn’t abandon you.”

It’s kind of odd for her to say it, but it feels rather obvious after spending a few weeks together, walking through Ascalon. She wouldn’t call him a friend, but he’s far from as bad as what she might’ve imagined when she first came here.  
“A team, huh? I guess you’re right at that. Probably the first charr-human union in Ascalon for ages.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Last week, I forgot to mention that I did start that GW1 fic I was talking about. If anyone is interested, I'll just add[this link](http://archiveofourown.org/works/9480371/chapters/21450602) here._


	29. Collected individuals

_1323 AE – Blazeridge Steppes, Ascalon_

Having survived their first united battle against the Branded, the team made their way as far as they possibly could from the Dragonbrand, without pushing their wounded too harshly. Katla, Rea, Razok and Daeynwe had all taken various degrees of injuries, with the charr getting the worst because of the ambush sent against him.  
The next day, they’re still sticking to the vicinity of their camp, as Sovica has claimed that Raz needs these hours for some extra rest, before they move on. Her concern is mostly ‘professional’ in her words, but the rest find it amusing that she’s showing any at all.

Rea finds herself wandering towards Raz’s little corner in the camp, closer to a set of trees, as the others are busy either with getting more supplies or scouting the area. Grawdr is guarding the camp, so Rea isn’t particularly afraid about getting distracted.  
When she reaches his spot, Raz is currently holding one of his portable turret in his hands, with some of the parts laying strewn across the ground. Rea can see cogs, gears and all sorts of different metal pieces which she’d generally have no idea how they’re put together, but the charr seems to know exactly what he’s doing.

“Doing alright, Raz?”

The charr blinks momentarily as he just now notices her arrival.  
“Hmm? Oh, yeah, I’m alright. A little bit bored, I suppose, so I’m trying to busy myself with some tinkering.”

The younger Svalen smiles and places herself next to him, correcting her clothes so that she can sit comfortably.  
“Lying still isn’t really your thing, huh?”

“Hah, not really, no. Don’t even know why she was bothered by it. My leg is fine! Mostly.”

Rea smirks slightly and tilts her head.  
“I think I’ll trust the one with healing skills more than the engineer, when it comes to health.”

“Tsk. You think I don’t know a thing or two about medical aid, as well? I’ve been involved in development processes of med kit distributors, you know!”

“Uh, what does that mean? You work with improving medicine or something?”

The charr clears his throat, raising a clawed hand to scratch under his chin.  
“Well…not exactly. I mean, it more indicates a sort of uh…improvement in delivery systems.”

“So, what you’re saying is that you haven’t actually worked with med kits, but with how to use them?”

“Exactly! Well, sort of.  
…okay, honestly, I worked on developing a cannon that could throw extra med packs to medics across the field. But hey, med kits were still involved in the process!”

Rea can’t help but giggle at his evasive and yet humorous awkwardness. She finds it charming somehow.  
“Close enough, I guess.”  
Her eyes shift towards what's in his hands again.  
“What is it you’re doing right now then?”

“Oh, just some minor modifications to my flame turret. I noticed during our fight against the beasts we encountered, prior to the Branded, that there was something slightly off in its target-switch mechanism.”

“I see. Must say that I didn’t really notice that myself, but I’m usually just fascinated by how well you use them. I don’t even understand how these things work.”

She sees how Raz’s expression shines up when she shows interest, similar to how he has done previously.  
“Well, it’s a bit complicated, but I can try to explain. You see, to get these babies to fire, you need a certain amount of materials, usually in terms of appropriately sized cogs, gears, metal wires, custom designed casings and more, connected through a system similar to how we use-“

“Uh, hold on. I don’t think you need to explain the whole weapon itself. I was mostly wondering how you get them to fire automatically, and to switch targets like you do. I mean, they’re not…alive, are they?”

He nods knowingly.  
“Ahh, right. Sorry, thought you were just curious in general.  
But, no, they’re not alive. Or well, at least not in the way we are. Technically, they don’t really work on their own, as I still need to activate them and sometimes calibrate the systems, but the basis for the entire mechanism is built upon asuran technology.”

“Oh, asura made these turrets?”

“No no, we made the turrets, but the asura made-…hold on.”  
He uses one of his wrenches to unscrew some cogs and remove the gears until he eventually reveals what appears to be a red crystal.  
“This thing is what powers the targeting system.”

Rea tilts her head, trying to examine the odd object. It’s not particularly transparent, nor is it symmetrical, and when she touches it, she feels just a small bit of warmth, but it’s not exactly burning hot.  
“What is it?”

“You remember those golems we saw the Inquest using?”

“The metal beast-things?”

“Yeah, those ones. These crystals are based upon the same thaumaturgical code, although a little bit more simplistic. It’s a much earlier design, where asura had been experimenting how to improve the golem’s detection of warmth in lifeforms for future input.  
When my people first began trading and co-operating with the asura, they gave us these as compensation for some specimen, research notes and other stuff they found much more curious. Naturally, as soon as we got ahold of the crystals, we attempted to weaponize the stuff. Tried to improve upon them ever since.”

He puts it back inside its place at the core of the turret and reassembles the device. Rea finds it very interesting how easily he does it, as if he has performed the same procedure hundreds of times.  
“That’s actually very impressive. You and your people’s ingenuity is very intriguing.”

While Raz smiles at first and nods in appreciation, he soon exhales instead, looking troubled.  
“Wish my mother felt the same way you do.”

A topic they have discussed previously, of course, but not necessarily one she is tired of.  
“That really bothers you, doesn’t it?”

“Well…not necessarily. I mean, I can live without her approval, if she just didn’t bring it up all the damn time.”

She can somehow sympathize with him, even though she didn’t have the same kind of experience.  
“It must’ve been tough for you growing up with her constant disapproval.”

Raz looks at her with a somewhat bemused gaze.  
“What do you mean?”

“Uh, I’m not sure how often she mentioned it, but I assume it was during most of the time you spent as a child. Or cub, or whatever your people calls it.”

He continues to appear puzzled by what she’s saying, and he tilts his head.  
“As a cub? Well, I mean, I didn’t see her during most of those years. It wasn’t until I had to join a proper warband that I spoke more with her.”

Rea furrows her brow, looking just as confused as he does now.  
“Wait, what? Your own mother didn’t spend as much time with you when you were young? No wonder your relationship is broken.”

“Oh, wait, hold on. I think you’re misunderstanding something here. Charr aren’t raised by their parents.”

“…you aren’t?”

Raz shakes his head.  
“Nope. When two charr get a cub together, both of them are relegated to minor duties, so that they can focus on taking care of their cub for a set number of months, at most a year. After that, the cub is sent to a fahrar, and the parents go back to handling their duties."

“What’s that?”

“A fahrar? It’s like a…communal cub center for education and social union. A Primus is assigned to each fahrar, and act as the guide and superior, teaching them the ways of our people, as well as what is expected of them when they grow up. They’re taught to unify and encouraged to set their own structure in the group. All of this eventually works out for when they create their first warband.”

Rea listens with fascination, but also feels it sounds so very strange to her.  
“Huh. That is certainly an interesting way to raise one’s children. It’s almost the opposite to how norn do it.”

“Oh?”

“Norn are very independent and separated from each other. We value individualism and personal heroics, and a union between two or more people is usually only an intention for people to merge their legends. I mean, while our parents don’t expect us to take after them, they do still raise us.”

He puts together the last parts of the turret and then places it down on the ground next to him.  
“Heh, yeah, that’s quite far from our fahrars. I don’t really mind it, though. I enjoyed my time in the fahrar and it was my Primus, this kinda smart female called Arvega, who got me interested in engineering.”

Rea smiles as she considers not just the difference between their lives, but how it would've been if they had switched.  
“And you don’t regret growing up that way?”

“Well, I can hardly even compare, as this is how our entire people have done it for generations, so, I don’t think so? I mean, I liked my first warband and my Primus, so life was pretty good back then. Had its ups and downs, sure, but not worse than most.”

She places a hand gently against his shoulder and widens her smile.  
“I’m glad you can look back at your childhood in that way. Or your uh, cubhood, I suppose you would call it. It’s always good to not regret who you once were.”

He returns the same expression.  
“Yeah, I certainly agree. Hey, if you wanna see how fahrars work, I’m sure they’d let you in at some point if you visit the Black Citadel.”

Rea raises a hand to stroke her chin in thought.  
“Hmm, that sounds like a fun suggestion. Maybe I’ll do just that. Perhaps you’ll go with me and act as my guide?”

Her question is asked with a certain glimmer in her eyes, which interests him as well.  
“I’m not the best guide you could get but, I’d definitely try.”


	30. Echoes of legend

_1323 AE – Fields of Ruin, Ascalon_

After the reasonably peaceful steppes, if one disregards the encounter on the Dragonbrand, the group enters a new sort of landscape, which is still reminiscent of the former. There’s still quite a bit of steppe, but this is interwoven with rocky hills, darkened forests and broken fields; the latter which has seen a lot of torment and destruction in the last several decades, perhaps even centuries.

A day or two of traveling goes by, until Razok decides to bring up an important aspect. At the time of speaking, they’re still not far away from the mountainous area behind them and heading towards an area with lots of tall and rather gloomy trees.  
“Dunno if the rest of you have noticed, but this is the Fields of Ruin. It’s the destination where you were supposed to take me.”

They continue to walk in a rather slow pace, although it is slower for some, and Rea looks to him with interest.  
“What does that mean then? You want us to just drop you off somewhere?”

“Well, the camp I’m going to is in the southeast so, we’ve still got a few days of travelling left to make.”

“Good! Wouldn’t wanna lose your good company all too early”, she says with a wry smile and nudges her shoulder into his.

Raz grins in return and shakes his head.  
“Yeah, yeah, I know you’ll miss me.”

Katla sighs, annoyed that he has become pretty good friends with her sister, but she tries not to get too distracted by it.  
“Do you have any advice regarding what to look out for in this region?”

“Oh, yeah, of course. Just like on the Steppes, there’s quite a few ogre clans who live around these parts, although they mostly keep to the mountains. They do herd their animals around occasionally and they’re not very friendly on approach. Thankfully, they’re kinda easy to spot, as you might imagine, so we should be able to avoid them.  
Other than that, we’ve got a small bit of the Brand a few kilometers to the west. That should also be possible to avoid, as we don’t have to go in that direction.  
Honestly, I think the biggest problem will probably be the occasional human groups.”

Some of them look surprised, even glancing at Sovica to see her reaction, but she seems too busy checking some kind of map, so Daeynwe asks for her.  
“Why would you say that?”

“Well, you see, the Ebonhawke Fortress is to the southwest and they’re still sort of at war with the High Legions. Seeing as how you’ve got an official Legion missive, we shouldn’t get any problems from my people, but I doubt any human patrols will think the same way.”

Katla scowls, trying to look for the fortress mentioned, but there’s still too many trees in the way.  
“Don’t they stay in their fortress then?”

“For the most part, yeah, but they’ve got the occasional scout patrol here and there. They’re not very friendly to my kind, as you might imagine. We haven’t really given them the incentive, after all.”

Their discussion is interrupted by Sov, who suddenly finds something within her notes.  
“Hmm…you called this place the Fields of Ruin, Razok?”

“Uh, yeah, that’s right. What about it?”

“I’ve been looking through my old geographical notes, comparing them to the map you gave me and I think I’ve come to the conclusion that we should be very close to the northern sections of Regent Valley.”  
When everyone stays silent in bemusement, she looks up from her scrolls.  
“This is the area where my ancestors used to live.”

The news silences them even longer, as they’re not quite sure what to think. Sov has been speaking of historical facts throughout the several weeks-long travel route that they’ve been experiencing so far, but none of them really knew how long it’d take to actually reach the area where her ancestors used to live.  
Dae is the first one to smile.  
“That is exciting to hear! Is there anywhere in particular you’d like to go?”

Sov scowls in thought and peers down into her notes.  
“Well, I…I don’t know. I would like to travel further into Regent Valley, but everything looks so different now, and I’m not even sure if any of the old places still stand.”

Raz raises a few claws and strokes them under his chin.  
“Can’t say I know for sure either, but what I can tell you is that there’s this memorial site to the southwest, in honor of uh…some humans, I don’t know who exactly. It was set up by the Durmand Priory a few years ago. It’d be a detour, but we could go for a quick visit.”

A bit of excitement can be seen glistering in her eyes when she gazes at him, but she soon realizes that she can’t make this decision.  
“What do you the rest of you think? Could we…go have a look?”

Dae obviously nods quite eagerly, but there was never really any reason to ask her. Naturally she’d be on Sov’s side.  
Rea smiles and places a hand on her shoulder in support.  
“Of course we can. This is why you’re here, right? We didn’t come all this way just to rebuff your wishes now.”

Katla nods in agreement.  
“Indeed. Rea is right.”

Ovillus clears his throat.  
“And personally, I believe you and I share an equal interest for research of any kind, even historical! Naturally, my curiosity is piqued as well. I remember writing some essays on certain human figures during my college days, actually.”

Raz snorts and shakes his head when Ovillus starts to prattle.  
“There’s no need to ask me either. If I didn’t wanna go with ya, I wouldn’t have mentioned that it existed. I know where it is, so I can guide us there.”

Sov shows them all a bright smile and nods.  
“Thank you, all of you. I am very grateful for your support.”

* * *

  
The route towards the memorial site takes them about a day in the wrong direction, to the southwest, which is closer to Ebonhawke and other human territory, but they are still outside of any major danger.  
The site itself isn’t exactly a masterpiece of design or grandeur, but Sovica is almost more thankful for it. They find a few stone blocks with metal plaques on them, surrounded by a thin metal fence, and in the middle, a stone carving of the old national emblem for Ascalon, with the sword and shield. Sov herself has seen it many times in books, but never crafted in such a beautiful fashion. It fills her with an odd ambiguous emotion of both sorrow and joy.

While the others walk around mostly in curiosity, it is Sov that checks each plaque to look for names. She actually recognizes several of them from historical records and she wishes she could somehow take these with her or in some other way save the view of them in a physical sense but, for now, she’s happy enough just to see them.

Eventually, she stops by a specific plaque and inclines her head. She takes a deep breath, shivering out of astonishment and her voice almost makes her sound distant, as if her mind is miles away.  
“This is it. This is my family’s plaque. I…I can hardly believe that something like this has been made. I have to remember to thank the Priory someday.”

The others naturally approach her, being quite fascinated to see what it says about Sov. Ovillus decides to read it out loud.  
_“To those who choose to read it, know that this text is written in honor of the brave souls who once guarded the old Regent Valley of Ascalon, the woods where royalty was fully realized._  
_The nation of Ascalon thanks clan Vlasic for their courage, martial prowess, sense of duty and loyalty.”_  
After that, they see a whole bunch of names, but Ovillus appears fairly shocked.  
“Hold on a moment…these are your ancestors?”

His surprise brings Sov back into reality and she looks down at him.  
“That’s right. Is there something amiss?”

“But…but this mentions Miljana Vlasic.”

She clears her throat and nods curtly.  
“Correct. She uh, she’s my ancestor. I am a direct descendant of hers.”

He widens his eyes even further.  
“But she’s a hero! A legend!”

Dae and Raz both look a bit confused, but the Svalen sisters seem equally stunned by this revelation.  
Sov scratches the back of her neck a bit awkwardly.  
“Uh, some may call her that, yeah. I…suppose they do back in my home as well. I wasn’t aware she was known among the asura too.”

“Of course she is! Well, mostly. She’s not venerated or anything, but she’s quite a thrilling subject! I wrote a thesis on Vlasic when I investigated the Ascension process, years ago. It was my very first visit into human lands and scouring through your archives.”

Before she can respond, Rea speaks up.  
“We know of her as well.”

She nibbles at her lower lip.  
“…you do?”

“Yup. Her name is mentioned in the company of some legends of old. Among others, she was a companion to Jora, who defeated her cursed brother, Svanir. Jora spoke very well of her among others of our people.”

Katla inclines her head.  
“The skalds also tell tales of her friendship with Brynja, a shaman who left the Svalen homestead to seek adventure further north.”

Sov had heard that her ancestor travelled across Tyria, but she didn’t know much of her involvement with norn.  
“Wow uh, I wasn’t aware that she was this famous.”

Rea smiles.  
“And we didn’t know you had such a heroic ancestor! Her legend among your people must be equal to how we look upon Svalen’s story.”

All this attention almost makes her squirm. She had hoped her status would not be an issue, but now it sounds like it might get in the way.  
“I…guess that’s true, yeah. She is seen as one of the legendary heroes of Kryta from the distant past and many still honor our family for that.”

Dae folds her arms, tilting her head slightly.  
“So, has your family gotten some benefit for that in some way?”

“Uhm, yeah, I guess. We’re not ‘clan Vlasic’ any longer, but House Vlasic. We’re nobles. In fact, my mother is a Baroness in southern Kryta, not far away from Lion’s Arch.”

Dae smiles slightly.  
“Ooh, really? So, my girlfriend is a Baroness’ daughter! That’s kinda cool.”

Sov manages to smile and shake her head at Dae’s enthusiasm, but Raz is the first to appear skeptical.  
“Well, uh, have you come all the way here for any reasons regarding your family’s old lands? Are you here to lay claims to them or something?”

She grows more solemn once more when she locks eyes with him.  
“No, I have not. In fact, the Regent Valley was never my family’s ‘lands’ to begin with. They merely lived in the Valley, as it was back then.”  
She turns to look back down at the plaque, running her fingers over its surface.  
“I came here because I wanted to see where Miljana started. She was a hero, a fighter, a savior and she has been an inspiration to me my entire life.  
She fought, not just for the land, but for the people. After she had to flee Ascalon, her name spread across Tyria and everyone found out that the names of Miljana Vlasic and her companions meant salvation and safety.”  
Sov takes another deep breath, trying to steady herself and not get all too nostalgic.  
“I want to make my own journey across Tyria, and seeing where she came from was a good starting point. I suppose it is a sort of…pilgrimage.”

Her words bring smiles to the others, while Dae wraps her hand around Sov’s, intertwining their fingers.  
“A noble who wants to be a hero, huh? Not all too bad of an idea, in my eyes.”

“Heh, I guess. But that’s just it – I want to make something out of myself. I don’t just want to be the title that I will inherit. I want to be active in the world and help people out, just like Miljana did. The name of Vlasic shouldn’t be something left to the history books.”

The sylvari smiles brightly and then leans against her to put a soft kiss on her cheek.  
“I’m glad to hear it, and I’d love to help you make it a reality.”

Rea grins as well.  
“Stick with us, ‘my lady’, and you’re sure to get a legend worthy of your name.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Originally, I thought about keeping the reveal a secret to the rest of the team until whenever I write the second fic with this group, but then I figured that this type of chapter might be much nicer for it._
> 
> _And yeah, I know that technically, Regent Valley is probably even further south than the Fields of Ruin, but, you know, whatever. It's nearby! And I liked the idea of this, so I took some liberties._


	31. Swirls of memory

_1323 AE – Fields of Ruin, Ascalon_

After the visit to the memorial site for clan Vlasic and many other humans that fell during the Searing, the group redirects their attention towards the road that will lead them to the east, and the Legion camp that they have to visit. Once night comes closer, the group does, as usually, decide to prepare a camp and get ready to rest, as they still have a few more days of wandering to do.  
While they get a meal ready, Daeynwe watches Sovica with interest for a while. Questions have been swirling around in her mind, and she is usually not one to stay silent about that for long.

When they sit together on a blanket and eat their food, Sov looks up and faces Dae with a bit of curiosity.  
“You…wanted to talk about something?”

The sylvari shows a small smile and tilts her head.  
“Maybe. How’d you know?”

Sov arches an amused brow in return.  
“Well, you’ve been staring at me for the past few minutes, so I figured there must be something amiss. Unless there’s something on my face.”

“There is.”  
Dae leans forward and plants a quick kiss on Sov’s cheek.  
“Don’t worry, though, it’s just a really charming sylvari, so it’s all good.”

Sov snickers slightly while shaking her head.  
“How long have you been thinking of that one?”

“What? Are you implying that I plan these things for days ahead, instead of making them up as I go, like a natural talent?”

She smirks and moves her spoon around in her stew. Sometimes she wonders how she could fall for such ridiculous charms.  
“I didn’t say that, nor did I mention ‘days’.”

“I knew what you were thinking! Can’t hide anything from me.”

Sov’s brown eyes glister mysteriously for a moment.  
“Nothing at all, huh? You sure about that?”

“Well, now that you mention it…”  
Dae sweeps the camp with her gaze, making sure that no attention is aimed at them. There rarely is, seeing as how the other four have understood what kind of activities these two indulge in and that it’s best to give them some space. She then slides a bit closer over the blanket and lowers her voice.  
“I was wondering about that whole noble thing.”

Not exactly what she had in mind for them to speak of tonight, but perhaps it’s reasonable that Dae would want to hear about it. Her expression does turn a tad more solemn, however.  
“Right. Was there something you wanted to ask?”

“Nothing in particular. I simply wanted to hear more of you and your family. I don’t know a whole lot.”

Sov stirs the spoon around the stew some more, furrowing her brow in slight annoyance.  
“You already know most things about me, Dae. My status isn’t all that I am.”

“Hey…that’s not what I’m saying, darling.”  
She raises one of her hands and strokes the back of her fingers very softly at Sov’s cheek.  
“I’m not saying I don’t know _you._ I am quite aware what kind of woman I’ve fallen in love with. What I’d like to know is where you come from, what your family is like, what you enjoy doing in…wherever it is you live.”  
Her smile widens a bit.  
“I only want to know as much about you as I can, because it matters to me.”

Her words manage to warm Sov’s heart once more and her lips curl somewhat in response.  
“Alright then. I can tell you about our lands and my family, if you wish.”

“Yes! What’re your parents like? Do you have any siblings? Pets, maybe?”  
She sighs and shakes her head.  
“…wait, I just told you that I wouldn’t ask questions. Go on!”

Sov giggles at Dae’s eager attitude. She moves her hand around the sylvari’s wrist, lifts it up and kisses the back of her hand.  
“Don’t worry about it. I like this side of you.”  
She envelopes Dae’s hand and intertwine their fingers.  
“Right, my family. My mother’s name is Zodwa Vlasic, Baroness of the Broadhollow barony in the Gendarren fields. She’s of Ascalonian descent, although technically, even further back, clan Vlasic originally came from Elona. It has been some…450 years or so, since we left that land, however.”

“Wow. Your family really keeps tabs on their lineage, huh?”

Sov snorts and shakes her head.  
“Welcome to human nobility.”  
She scowls for a moment.  
“Actually, I shouldn’t say that. I tend to be quite adamant regarding history too.”

“Yes, but you have an interest in national history, of your people, not specifically about your family.”

She shrugs, admitting that this may be the case; but, then again, she has also tended to care for her connection to Miljana, as that ancestor of hers has been her hero for quite a while.  
“Maybe. At any rate, my father’s name is Baron Kylian Beaumont Vlasic. He’s obviously not the regent, but his family, house Beaumont, is also a noble house of a similar status as ours. Their lands are much further to the north, however. He’s of Krytan descent, and their house travelled with the royal family and others when they made their way towards where Divinity’s Reach is now.  
Lastly, I have my little sister, Lishan Vlasic. She’s an officer in the Seraph. Well, she’s a Second Lieutenant, so, she’s not exactly high in the ranks just yet.”

“Ooh, your sister is a warrior then?”

Sov glances towards Dae, seeing the intrigued gaze she’s given.  
“Heh, well, I think calling her a ‘soldier’ is more apt.”

“Does she fight with swords, axes or something like that?”

“She does, but-“

“A warrior, then!”

Sov rolls her eyes, but smiles as well, before she puts the bowl down, lifts her hand and playfully pokes Dae’s nose as the sylvari laughs.  
“Alright, yes, sort of a warrior, I suppose. She tends not to actually seek out a fight, though. She’s there to help protect the people and watch over Kryta.”

“I see. Do you two get along?”

“For the most part, yes. Our…duties are different, obviously, but she tries to come home as often as possible, or meet me if I’m somewhere close to where she’s stationed.”  
She smiles wistfully and shakes her head.  
“Sometimes, you remind me a bit of her. She can also be kind of smug and joke around. She’s not quite as cheerful, though.”

Dae grins.  
“Really? She sounds like a very fun person. Is she as pretty as you?”

Sov looks up, narrows her eyes and smirks while she raises a warning finger.  
“Don’t even try it. There’s only one Vlasic available for you.”

The sylvari laughs once more, raising her free hand defensively.  
“Hey, I didn’t say I was going to try anything! If she has similar taste as you, maybe I can introduce her to some of my friends.”

“Tsk, no thank you. Besides, you’ll have to see for yourself when you meet her.”

“I look forward to it!  
No pets, then?”

“Oh, well, yes, we do have three cats - Auguro, Sayaki and Balten.”

Dae looks somewhat surprised.  
“Those are their names? Not the easiest to remember.”

Sov appears amused, as she has heard similar notions before.  
“I guess it depends how you look at it. The first is the name of my great-great grandfather, a rather famous and kind-hearted member of our family, who did much good within the Ministry.  
Sayaki was Miljana’s wife, as well as a member of her adventuring team. She was said to be quite sly and dangerous, but very charming as well.  
Balten is a shortened version of Balthazar, the god of fire and war. The cats sort of reflect those personality traits.”

“Hah! Okay, I suppose they’re quite creative names, then.  
Hmm. So, I guess you are the, uh…what do you call it? ‘Heir’?”

Sov exhales softly and inclines her head.  
“Yes, I am the heir to the barony.”

“You…don’t sound thrilled about it.”

“Well, it’s not that. I understand what it means and what a privilege it is to have such a title. I know that I have it far from as difficult as many below my family’s status. I am just…uncomfortable with some of the things I’m expected to do.  
I’m expected to be the same type of noble as everyone else; follow their trends, opinions and activities. They expect me to marry someone of high birth, preferably higher than a Baroness and get children with this person. I also shouldn’t want to admit to any faults, nor should I ever seek out danger. On top of that, my mother has very much implied that she wants me to aim for the same position as she has and I’m just…”

No words are emitted after that, as Sov simply sighs and sounds exhausted to even consider it. Dae tries to soothe her by stroking a thumb at the back of the hand she’s holding.  
“Well, that does sound like a lot of expectations, yes. But uh, what’s this ‘position’ your mother has? Is it different from a Baroness?”

“What? Oh, right, I forgot to mention that.  
Yes, my mother is not just a Baroness, but also a member of the Krytan Ministry.”

Dae widens her eyes somewhat. She may not know a whole lot about human society, but as she was around them for several months, she does have knowledge of some of their social structures.  
“Hold on, aren’t they the leaders of your people?”

“Well, sort of. Queen Jennah is our leader, but the Ministry designs and proposes laws to the Queen, as well as handling a lot of the minor day-to-day activities. The Queen also often needs to discuss matters of change in Kryta with the Ministry and seek their approval, as many Ministers have influence over their own regions.”

“Right, I forgot. So, your mother is one of these ministers?”

Sov inclines her head, and there are clear signs of hesitation on her expression.  
“She is, and she often makes a big deal out of expecting me to take after her, even though I’ve made it abundantly clear to her that I have no interest in politics.  
My mother has always been like that. She’s very controlling, wanting to decide many parts of my life – what my interests should be, who I meet and befriend, what I wear and most of all, who I can and should marry. She has picked out a number of specific candidates through the years and it’s been difficult to shut them all down.”

Dae falters for a moment.  
“That does sound…kind of harsh. Is your father the same way?”

“Not quite, but he’s not much better either. He’s not the type to push me, but he sort of just…expects things to be as they are and continue that way. He has accepted this life and what it means, therefore he thinks my protests are not worth much. Claims that it will only lead to difficulties for me.”

“They don’t care about what you want at all?”

Her eyes gazes into the fire as she appears distant.  
“Well, sometimes they do. They allowed my interest in history and they were quite thrilled when I showed magical potential. It meant that I could make more connections among some of the capable mages and sorcerers in our universities and magical organizations. On top of that, they never completely turn down my wishes.  
I still love them, and I know they love me too, but we simply have different ideas what must be done in life.”

“I see. Is that why they allowed you to come here? To indulge some of that sense of freedom?”

Once more, she displays signs of hesitation, but this time, she looks a bit embarrassed instead.  
“Erm…not quite.”

“No? Then why were they alright with you coming here?”

Sov clears her throat and starts to fidget with her clothes, correcting them while she talks.  
“They…may not know that I came this way.”

Dae blinks in confusion, trying to survey her words.  
“Hold on, are you saying that you…ran away from home?”

She tilts her head back and forth, weighing her response.  
“I think that is…a possible way to explain my situation, yes.”

Seconds of silence passes by as the sylvari remains stunned by this. How long have they been travelling out here now? A few months? And all this time, Sov has been on the run from home.  
The rest of the camp suddenly hears how Dae erupts in laughter, louder than she did before. Some wonder what the two young women are up to now, but no one bothers to check.  
In the meantime, Dae throws her arms around Sov to hug her.  
“You are mad! And hilarious, of course. I didn’t think you’d do such a thing! Why haven’t you mentioned this before?”

Sov smiles, relieved that it is out now and also to see Dae’s approval.  
“Well, I didn’t know what to tell everyone. It took a while for me to trust each of you and I still don’t know Ovillus very much just yet, even though he’s quite a pleasant and intellectual guy.  
I suppose there’s also the fact that I…didn’t know when to bring it up.  
‘Hello everyone. Just so you know, I’m actually a Baroness’ daughter and I ran away from home to go see Ascalon, because my mother wouldn’t allow me to. Hope you’re all okay with that’. It’s just not something you bring up while having a meal around the campfire.”

Dae can’t help but giggle once more.  
“Alright, fair enough. But hey, you shouldn’t feel so bad about it. You know I’ll always be at your side. I’m here to support you, no matter what.”

She takes the sylvari’s hands once more, squeezing it gently.  
“I know and I’m really thankful for it as well. Your support means a lot to me.”

“Mhm. I’ll even defend you, if necessary.”

Sov arches a brow slightly.  
“…defend me? From what? I’m capable enough to defend myself in a fight.”

Dae smirks in return as she strokes herself a bit closer.  
“No, I didn’t mean in a fight. I meant against, like, future suitors. They can’t decide who you’re going to be with, now that I’m around. Any bastard that comes too close will have to go through me!”

She raises her free hand and makes stabbing positions in the air, as if she was holding sword. Sov snickers once more and shakes her head.  
“I’m glad that my status and family hasn’t deterred you.”

The sylvari calms herself and turns towards Sov, showing a softer smile towards her.  
“Of course it hasn’t. I would never consider being angry or snubbing you for who you are. Sure, we haven’t been together for very long, but there’s so much about you that I absolutely adore, and I want to continue exploring our relationship. That means I’ll stand with you against your troubles at home, because we are in this together.”

She feels how the human’s hand squeezes hers even tighter and their eyes meet in a fierce gaze, as Sov leans closer.  
“You don’t know how important that is to me. I’ve had girlfriends and boyfriends before, but never someone like you. Making this work may be quite difficult…”

“So what? Nothing that is worth fighting for is ever easy. And you are definitely worth it, beyond a doubt.”

Some of their words may be in the spur of the moment, and while Sov contemplates this, she realizes how much obstacles there are waiting for them ahead. But, at the very least, they both seem determined to face them.  
With a bright smile on her lips, she wraps a hand around the back of Dae’s neck, pushing herself up against the taller woman and locks their lips together fiercely. She doesn’t know what her parents will say when she comes back home with Dae around her, but she can’t wait to see it.


	32. The day goes on

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Yep, two chapters this week. I had some time._   
>  _Also, a little addendum - I realized that I made some mistakes in the chapter when they first got to Fields of Ruin, which I've now rectified. Somehow, my brain got me thinking that they arrived from the west and not the north, which was of course a mistake. I'm sure no one cares, but I do! Anyway, I fixed the directions now._

_1323 AE – Eastern Fields of Ruin, Ascalon_

Having finally returned to the correct route towards the camp, the group travels for a few days towards a more mountainous region. Along the way, they spot groups of ogres herding their animals and the occasional charr patrol as well, but they avoid most of these. Razok was pretty sure that the squad they saw were Blood Legion and while they’re allies, he doesn’t want to take any chances, especially as there’s still a certain amount of rivalry, if not some light animosity, between the two factions, even when they’re united.

The landscape turns rockier and they move between hills with areas that are probably quite useful to stage ambushes. They try their best to stay alert, like Raz warns them to, but all it really helps them with is being paranoid.  
With Katla in front, leading them just in case they wander into any enemies, they move past a corner in the makeshift road ahead, when Rea suddenly takes quick steps forward and seizes her sister’s shoulder.

Katla blinks and glances back at her in surprise, but Rea’s eyes are set upon something on the ground. She lifts off her bow from her shoulder and uses it to brush away some of the fallen leaves, revealing a small hollowed out area which hides a bear trap.  
“Almost wandered into this one.”

The older sister frowns and begins to gaze upwards.  
“Hmm…didn’t see it.”

“I think that was the point. We’re being watched.”  
Katla lifts her hand to grab her the hilt of her blade, but Rea grabs her wrist before she can try it and shakes her head.  
“There’s no need for that. They already have rifles aimed at us.”  
Naturally, Katla doesn’t seem to like this one bit, but she trusts her sister’s instincts in this matter. After that, Rea raises her voice.  
“This was the signal for you to show yourselves, by the way. We won’t resist.”

A few seconds of silence and stillness continues, building uncertainty in some members of the team, until people begin appearing not just from behind the rocks, but from corners and some of the few withering trees as well. Rea was right at least – there are rifles, about half a dozen, aimed right at them, together with four bows. Except for them, there’s just as many with close-ranged weapons.  
“You’re a lot more perceptive than we expected, norn. Not that it will save an intruder.”  
The voice comes from a male charr with brown and white-striped fur in a black leather armor, with an eyepatch over his right eye. His horns are somewhat more curved than Raz’s.  
“You are trespassing, with a human among you no less, so if you don’t want us to shoot you down on the spot, you’ll explain your purpose here.”

Sovica scowls and rolls her eyes, folding her arms indignantly, but doesn’t say anything. In the meantime, Katla sighs and opens up her coat to grab the scroll hidden in its inner pocket, something Raz gave to her for safekeeping, seeing as how he didn’t fare very well during the earlier battle.  
“We have a missive from one of your Tribunes to the west.”

The man narrows his eye and looks skeptical.  
“From a Tribune? Who?”

“Well…I can’t remember her name, but she’s located to the west. How many do you really have?”

He snorts and shakes his head.  
“Oh yes, because that doesn’t sound suspicious or anything.”

Trying to do his best to salvage the situation, Raz pushes forward and clears his throat.  
“It was Tribune Centra Grimsnarl who sent them, Centurion, to escort me here with the missive.”

The Centurion, which it seems to be, looks a bit surprised at Raz.  
“Razok? Huh. My scouts mentioned a charr among a group of outsiders, but not that it was you. What are you doing here, who are these people and why aren’t you holding this missive yourself?”

Raz raises a hand and scratches the fur at his neck.  
“Well uh, things didn’t quite go as we may have planned around certain parts of the road. I thought it was better if one of my escorts took care of it instead.”

The Centurion doesn’t look particularly convinced.  
“Uh-huh. And this human you have with you? Who is she? Not a spy, holding your leash or anything?”

“What? Hey, I’m not a traitor!”

Sov exhales and takes a step forward, so that she’s more properly seen.  
“My name is Sovica Vlasic and I’m not from Ebonhawke. I’ve travelled from Kryta, my homeland, and I came here to study the old hunting grounds of my people in Ascalon. The rest of this group are fellow travelers, who came here for unrelated reasons, and we merely stumbled into your soldier on the way. As we aided him against the Flame Legion, your superior thanked us and then asked us to do this task as well.  
If you look at the missive and interview Razok, I’m sure you’ll see that the story checks out.”

The Centurion watches her, as well as eyeing Raz and the rest of the group for a few moments as he considers them. No weapon is lowered during this time and the hostility is still fairly apparent.  
“Fine, we will investigate this matter, but you will come with us. If this is the truth as you say, then you will relinquish your weapons and wait while I examine all of the evidence.”

Some look reluctant, but Sov merely shrugs. Then again, she is basically her own weapon.  
“Very well, we have nothing to hide. Go ahead.”

He nods and waves for them to follow.  
“We will take you to our camp. Do not try anything, or you’ll have both a bullet and an arrow in you so fast you won’t even have time to feel it.”  


* * *

  
The camp isn’t all too impressive, being no more than a few tents, tables and other portable equipment placed up in the hills, but it is at least well-hidden.  
While they do have to give their weapons over, they don’t actually have to wait for all that long, as the Centurion returns together with Raz after about ten minutes. His demeanor has softened at that point and he gestures for his troops to hand over the group’s gear again.  
“I apologize for the previous hostility. After checking the missive and speaking to Razok, it appears that you did indeed tell the truth.”

Sov, seemingly being the speaker for them at this time after having taken charge during the ambush, smiles politely.  
“There’s no need for concern, as we understand that you had to be thorough. We are on your grounds right now, after all.”

“Still, I suppose it was kinda rude after you were paid to come here.  
I’m Centurion Viturg Flamepaw of the Ash Legion, and I’m in charge of our operations along this section of the Fields of Ruin.”

“A pleasure to meet you, Centurion.”  
Sov motions towards her companions.  
“The ones who travel with me are Katla and Rea of the Svalen homestead, their companion Grawdr, Daeynwe from the Grove and professor Ovillus.”

Some of them look a bit surprised over such a formal statement and the asura especially clears his throat.  
“Ehm, if I may, I do not actually have the status of a-“

Sov interrupts him.  
“None of us have previously been to this region of Ascalon, Centurion, so I hope you don’t mind if we seem ignorant about this area.”

Viturg shrugs.  
“We don’t expect anyone to be. Actually, its preferable for people in my line of work, as we can easier manage our surveillance at that point.  
However, I must ask, was the fight against the Branded true? Razok here relayed the story to me.”

Daeynwe grins as she hears it.  
“Hah, it is true indeed! Did he speak of our great heroics that day?”

Viturg gives Raz a glance, who simply shrugs, before the Centurion shakes his head.  
“Dunno about heroics, but he did mention that you all fought well enough.”  
His eye falls upon Sov specifically.  
“Especially you, human. Vlasic, was it?”

“Sovica Vlasic, yes.”

“ _Baroness_ Vlasic, actually”, Dae interjects, with a smirk.

Sov rolls her eyes in response.  
“Not yet. Just Sovica is fine.”

Viturg looks between them, not quite sure what’s going on there, before he puts his focus on Sov once more.  
“Well, in any case, he mentioned how you saved him during the battle.”

Not being quite ready for it, Sov looks at Raz in surprise, getting a quick wink from him.  
“Well, I…I don’t know about any saving being done, but I did offer my healing services to him, yes. It was all we could do to help him out of the battle.”

“We rarely hear of humans helping us out, so I’d like to extend the thanks of the Ash Legion for doing that much. Had he perished, Tribune Grimsnarl would’ve likely taken my hide for it.”

She smiles, as she finds it both amusing and almost honorable to hear charr thanking her. Not exactly what she had expected to experience when she started her journey.  
“You’re welcome, Centurion. Razok has been good company so far, and I was more than happy to help out.”

“Glad to hear it.”  
He moves his claws towards a bag hanging by his belt, which he tosses towards Sov. She gasps, not being great with reflexes, nor accuracy and just barely catches it on her chest.  
“There’s the coins you were promised for the mission, with a bit of extra from me personally, as thanks.”

“Oh, that is most generous of you, Centurion. Thank you.”

“No problem. And, since you were so eager to help out, maybe you’d be interested in another mission? Not nearly as long as travelling from Ashford though, I can assure you.”

Katla scowls and folds her arms, not quite as happy to do more errands.  
“Is this another message that needs to be delivered?”

“It is, but like I said, it’s much shorter. Most of our scouts and messengers are not available for a few more days and after reading the missive, it stands clear that this needs to be sent right away.”

The oldest norn sighs, but Sov gestures with her hand.  
“Well, tell us what it’s about and we shall consider it.”

“Good. This message needs to be taken to a town in the northwest, closer to the Brand in this region. You might’ve passed it along the way, I’m not sure, but it’s called Folly’s Breach. Mostly crafters and a couple of farmers guarded by a few soldiers, but they’ve been getting attacked by the Branded quite a bit ever since it was created. Showing true Legion resolve, they continue to live there and while I wouldn’t call it ‘prosper’, they’re doing alright. This message is pretty important, so I’d like to entrust it to someone I know can get it delivered.  
If you need an incentive, then we’re ready to toss over some more coins right away for ya.”

Naturally, Katla doesn’t look satisfied, which Rea finds a bit unnecessary, so she decides to further question this delivery.  
“This settlement, do you think we’ll need to fight on our way there?”

“Doubtful, but definitely not impossible.  
If you’re actually interested in that sort of thing, then I’m sure that the village itself might have need of capable fighters.”

This does allow Katla to at least show a little bit more interest, while Sov smiles and nods.  
“That sounds good enough for us, Centurion. We accept your offer.”

“Very good!”  
He tosses over another bag of coins and then pats Raz’s shoulder.  
“Take a few hours of rest before you leave, but preferably be off before the day is done.”

Raz smirks in the group’s direction while he spreads his arms.  
“Seems like you won’t get rid of me all too easily, eh?”

Rea smiles widely when she hears it and puts her hands at her hips.  
“Who says we wanted you to leave anyway? This place would be a lot more boring without you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _The village mentioned doesn't really exist in-game, but it's something I'm using for this story. It's located roughly around the area where Skoll's Bivouac is in-game, but obviously, I've amplified the size of each region to be somewhat more realistic._


	33. Distant winters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Here comes another Eir flashback chapter._

_1316 AE – In the outskirts of the Borealis Forest, Shiverpeak Mountains_

The sun stands high in the sky on this day, as birds can be heard tweeting in the nearby vicinity of the small road that Eir wanders upon. Garm, of course, keeps himself close to his companion, but occasionally raises his nose into the sky to pick up the interesting and rather pleasant scents in the air. The ranger can’t completely sense them just yet, but she can figure out why he would be so intrigued. Already from the distance they are now, she can hear cheerful talks, laughter and even some singing from the homestead area she’s approaching. Some kind of festivities are currently being enjoyed here, and while Eir isn’t familiar with all the possible regional events that occur in these mountains, she figures that this is likely something dedicated to whatever local hero or legend they might have. Many homesteads among the norn have that sort of thing. In fact, so did the person’s homestead of which she’s about to meet right now.

As she walks inside, she’s greeted by a somewhat diverse crowd. A few dozen people have gathered and while most of them are norn, there are also at least a couple of charr, sylvari and humans as well. Most seem too busy with their celebration, but a few do turn to look and wave at Eir, surprised to see that she’d be coming. Her own reputation has grown quite a bit and many are aware of her deeds against Jormag’s minions. However, she isn’t here to drink in the glory or boast, but rather to chat with a certain woman.

This young woman currently seems to be busy, however. From afar, Eir can see Rea Svalen standing among several other norn in about the same age as her own. They do what most others seem to do here as well, of course, along with enjoying whatever beverages and food is available.  
One of those around her, a medium brown-skinned woman with braided black hair and red facial tattoos, stands particularly close to Rea. The two women occasionally glance at one another with amusement or whisper a few words. It appears that this other individual is somewhat taller than Rea, and dressed in what Eir believes to be Wolfborn armor. This amuses the older ranger, as she wonders what sort of deviousness that Rea is up to now.

When the Wolfborn once more whispers something into the young ranger’s ear, Rea leans her head back to laugh as her cheeks flush somewhat. She grabs a quick swig of her ale, then she puts the mug down and wraps her arm around the warrior’s neck. She pulls the other woman in and with arms wrapped around her own waist, the two share a deep and lingering kiss.  
As Eir steps closer, she hears a few words spoken between the two.  
“I know a tent which should be pretty empty, by the way.”

Rea flashes a small grin.  
“Mm, had enough drink, huh?”

“Well…we could always have some more, in private.”

While it’s amusing to watch and listen, when Eir sees how the Wolfborn’s hands starts travelling down Rea’s back and down to her lower regions, she thinks it’s time to intervene before they get all too busy for her.  
“Before you do that, perhaps I could borrow her for a little while?”

The group, seven people if the pair is included, all turn and widens their eyes as Eir smiles at them, with hands placed at her hips.  
“Eir…Eir Stegalkin? What are you doing here?”

Instead of showing any similar reaction, Rea merely looks amused.  
“Told you I knew her. Hello, Eir. You want something to drink?”

“Heh, no I think I’ll pass, my friend, at least for now. I would like to have a chat though, if you don’t mind.”

Rea smiles, lifting her mug to pour down the last of her ale and then wipes her mouth.  
“Sure, I’ve got some time, I think. There’s a tent empty around the side of the homestead. We can do it there.”  
Eir inclines her head and then turns to leave. In the meantime, most of the group around the table looks after her in astonishment, while Rea moves up to the Wolfborn woman. She grabs the top of the warrior’s armor and pulls her in close, pushing another kiss onto her lips rather eagerly.  
“You and me aren’t done yet, so don’t go anywhere.”

The woman clears her throat and nods.  
“Don’t worry, I won’t. You’ll have to tell me more about this anyway…”

“We’ll see.”  
To distract her from Eir, Rea deliberately sways her hips more than usually and waves her hand over her shoulder while she strolls away.  
When the two rangers are finally alone in the tent, Rea approaches her without hesitation and wraps her arms eagerly around Eir’s shoulders, embracing her tightly. The older woman smiles and returns the friendly hug.  
“It’s good to see you, Eir.”

“You too, my dear. How have you been?”

Rea leans back and corrects some of her red-black hair that wants to go astray, as she has it mostly hanging loose this day.  
“Oh, you know, I’m fine. Been having a lot of fun at this celebration.”

Eir snorts and shakes her head while she leans back towards a small table inside and folds her arms.  
“I noticed. Messing around with the Wolfborn, are we?”

Rea smirks and shrugs nonchalantly.  
“Well, I wasn’t specifically aiming for one of them, but this one was really cute. Kept eyeing me while we were dancing earlier, so I had to invite her to our table.”

“You’re not planning on getting into trouble, I hope?”

“Tsk, what trouble? We’re just having fun. Besides, I like her, so I wouldn’t do anything stupid. And you should see the look of her abs under that shirt she’s wearing.”

She starts playfully waving her hand in front of her face to cool herself down. Eir rolls her eyes, but she can’t really stop the small laughter she emits as well.  
“Alright, alright, I get it. Go easy on her, wherever you intend to go later.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I’ve heard about your escapades, Rea. I believe I spoke to a young man who once said that sharing a bed with you was ‘quite an adventure’.”

Another grin, this one much smugger than the last, slides onto Rea’s features.  
“Well…can’t argue with facts, can I?”

Eir raises a hand, not wanting to really discuss any more of that. Sure, she mentioned it, but Rea is still like a little sister to her, and she doesn’t want to know all too many details for that reason.  
“Anyhow, you know what I’m here for.”

Getting somewhat more solemn, Rea folds her arms and nods curtly.  
“Well, if you’re wondering, Katla isn’t here.”

“Yes, I figured. This isn’t her type of event.”

“Mm, I dunno about that. She can certainly attend this sort of thing, if only for the free drinks. But she’s not around at the moment.”

“I see. How has she been lately?”

Rea walks over to a chair next to the table, sits down onto it and crosses her legs as well.  
“Not much different than last time, really. I mean, she is coping a lot better with the uh…the incident, but she still has violent tendencies. You can’t really expect such things to go away.”

Eir appears distant for a moment, knowing that the loss of her foster parents still affects Katla to a major degree. What else can she expect? Katla is not one to forget so easily, nor would Eir demand it.  
“I wish…I wish there was something I could do for her.”

“I know, but…right now, I don’t think that would be a very good idea, really.”

Pushing those thoughts into the back for later, Eir gazes at her with interest.  
“Hmm, that reminds me – I heard a certain…rumor, regarding Katla.”

“Rumor?”

“Yeah. Something about Katla getting into a fight with one of Whitebear’s boys. Sigfast, I think?”

Rea leans her head back then and starts to laugh once more.  
“Ooh, _that_ kind of rumor. I wonder where you might’ve heard that one, huh?”

Eir merely smiles, not revealing too much from her expression.  
“Well, is there any truth to it?”

“I don’t know if I’d call it a ‘fight’, exactly. It was more of a brawl.”

“Katla brawled with Sigfast? Why would she do that?”

While she still looks sort of smug, Rea clears her throat.  
“Well, uh…let’s just say that certain things might’ve transpired that led to that reaction.”

“…what did you do, Rea?”

She lifts a hand and playfully pushes Eir’s closest leg.  
“You already know by now, so I don’t get why you’re asking!”

“I just want to hear your version of the proceedings, that’s all.”

Rea exhales slightly and rolls her eyes.  
“You make it sound so much worse than it is.”

“Perhaps, but that doesn’t mean you didn’t make a bit of a mess.”

“It wasn’t that bad! Sigfast and me had just been…you know, talking for a while and-“

“Flirting, you mean.”

Rea tilts her head and arches a brow in Eir’s direction.  
“You want to hear my side of it or not?”  
  
The hunter sighs briefly.  
“Yes, alright, go on.”

“Anyway, I met Sigfast up by the Bearheart homestead to the north, as he was around for some kind of hunt and we decided to…chat for a while. And yes, as you already know, it started to get a little bit more…intimate. Katla was around and she eventually noticed it, even though the others in the homestead tried to distract her. By that point, she was already really drunk, so, she stood up and challenged him to a fistfight. As he was drunk too, naturally, he agreed, even though I tried to stop them both.”

Eir laughs shortly, and despite that she thinks it’s stupid, she can’t help but feel that’s so typical for Katla. Always trying to protect her sister, even though it’s not needed.  
“So, what happened?”

“You don’t know?”

“Well, the rumors are kinda fuzzy after that. I suppose someone didn’t want to get the whole truth out.”

“Hah! Okay, well yeah, Katla won, obviously. I don’t think he was prepared that she’d be so effective, even while drunk. Actually, I think I wonder that myself, if Katla has some secret intoxicated combat skill or something.”

Eir looks amused as she considers that Sigfast probably didn’t want people to hear of that result.  
“Who knows? Maybe Birger taught her some of his special techniques.”

“I guess it’s not impossible. I wasn’t around all the time while those two were sparring.”

“And that was it? Sigfast walked away with a hurt pride or something?”

“Hmm? Oh, no no, not at all. Well…perhaps a little bit, but I think I helped him mend it. His ‘consolation prize’ was spending the night with me, so I don’t think he was particularly disappointed.”

Eir chuckles once more.  
“I should’ve known. Didn’t even take your sister’s side, huh?”

“Hey, I didn’t agree to any sort of outcome for either of them. I didn’t even like the idea of a fight! I wanted him in my bed that night, so there wasn’t any other option.”

“Are you aiming to become part of the Whitebear’s?”

Rea arches a doubtful brow as she smirks.  
“Pff, you think I wanna settle down now? Nah, that was just for fun.”

Obviously, Eir is not about to argue with her. She’s a norn and therefore she’s allowed to do whatever she wishes. Besides, she doesn’t think the Svalens would be all too well together with the Whitebears.  
“What about another rumor I heard then? Did you two fight that group of Sons of Svanir to the northeast?”

Rea appears distant as she strokes her chin.  
“Hmm…are you talking about the ones around Frusenfell?”

“I believe so, yes. There wasn’t any specific area pointed out to me.”

“Well, if it was, that’d be us, yeah. Katla had been targeting them after the Svanir cubs had been threatening a few homesteads nearby. Didn’t want them to cause more trouble.”

“And you…went with her?”

“Of course. I couldn’t leave her to do it alone, Eir. I mean, she’d definitely do it without me, but I know that she’ll just go do something stupid, possibly get herself killed.”

The older ranger sighs, looking rather troubled.  
“I know, but…I just wonder what repercussions this will have in the long run.”

“What do you mean?”

“They’re starting to hear of you, Rea. Just last week, someone talked to me about a group of the Sons that tried to get information from travelers regarding you and Katla. They might begin to target you.”

For a moment, Rea actually seems surprised, before she furrows her brow.  
“Huh. I hadn’t actually heard about that. Dunno whether to be flattered or worried…”

“Personally, I would prefer if you felt a bit of both.  
I know Katla wants to continue fighting them and I’m not saying you can’t do that, but is it not possible to slow down your progress?”

Rea leans back in her chair while she exhales.  
“It’s not that easy. Katla is...difficult to control and you should know that. It is certainly worrying, but she sort of has this rage in her that she needs an outlet for and the Svanirs tend to be the best target.”

“I know and I’m very well aware of the importance of what she does, but I am simply afraid that either of you might someday get yourselves hurt in the process, or worse.”

“What, you don’t trust in our abilities?”

Eir shakes her head.  
“No no, I do. You are certainly both capable fighters, which you’ve more than proven so far, but even the best can sometimes make a mistake and with your kind of activities, that might be fatal.”

Rea looks distant, absorbing Eir’s advice as she contemplates what she and her sister have been doing. She then shrugs, not completely without care, but more in a resigned fashion.  
“I guess, but I can’t control Katla, Eir. She will do whatever it is she wants to do. All I can do is remain vigilant.”

This is definitely true, which saddens Eir to a certain degree. She cares for them both, a lot, and doesn’t want to see them get into unfortunate situations. Part of her wishes that she’d be allowed to get close, so she could help out.  
“Does she ever…speak of me?”

The question silences Rea for a few seconds, and she appears rather hesitant to respond.  
“I uh…I dunno. Not that much, I guess.”

“Have you tried to mention it?”

“Once. It…didn’t go very well. She merely frowned and walked away.”  
She looks up in time to see Eir glancing down with sadness in her eyes. Rea stands up then and puts a hand towards the other ranger’s, squeezing it gently.  
“I’m sorry. I’m not saying it’s impossible, just…”

Eir tries her best to offer a smile, even though Rea can see that it’s fragile. She squeezes back, just in case.  
“It’s fine. I understand completely.”  
Despite her words, it definitely hurts. She may not have expected much, but wishes dearly that there would’ve been…something. Perhaps that is too much to ask, despite the years that have passed.  
They sit for a little while together and discuss Rea’s own feats and activities, until Eir feels that she needs some time alone.  
“You should return to the others. Can’t leave that Wolfborn girl for too long, right? She might get impatient.”

Rea smiles, still holding onto Eir’s hand.  
“Yeah, guess you’re right. Will you stick around for a while?”

“A short time, perhaps. I need to be in Hoelbrak later, but we can possibly share a drink first, unless you’re busy.”  
  
The expression Rea offers her is gentle and caring, being very pleased with the idea.  
“I’d like that.”

Rea quickly leans in to hug Eir, before she leaves the older ranger alone. Eir remains on the table for longer than she anticipated, staring off into nothingness. Part of her wonders and dreads that her last chance to see a beloved friend has passed, and there’s nothing she can do to salvage the situation. All she can do is hope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _I may have made Garm a little bit too old, now when I think about it. Like, if he was with Eir already by 1306, then he's been around for at least 20 years by the start of the game._   
>  _Then again, this is a world with magic and monsters, so maybe wolves just live longer on the Shiverpeaks. Yeah, I'll use that excuse. SOUNDS REASONABLE_


	34. Heroes of fall

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _If you have played the first GW, be warned: I mention some stuff in this chapter that isn't quite what happens in that story, which is part of my effort in trying to change some things._

_1323 AE – Fields of Ruin, Ascalon_

The road towards Folly’s Breach is supposedly just a day or two at most, but even so, it is not recommended for travelers like these ones to go at it without a single stop. That’s why they’ve gone for a break along the way, to rest up somewhat before they continue.   
The area they’ve stopped by is a clearing in between a few fairly tall rocky platforms, several hours away from the Ash Legion camp. On their route here, they’ve spotted some of the ogres that Razok warned them about, but as they were seen only from a distance, the group has managed to stay away and not get themselves into trouble again.  
As they all have their own backpacks and supplies, each of them gets something small to eat and drink, to replenish themselves.

Sovica and Daeynwe sit together on a larger rock, munching on a piece of dried fruit each, while peering out towards the area around them. Dae occasionally ask about something that Sov might know of, or at least from an historical viewpoint. It’s not like the human has all too much knowledge of the current landscape, other than what Raz has told her along the way.  
While Sov digs around in her backpack to find some information in one of the notebooks she brought with her, Dae narrows her eyes and leans forward as she sees something in the distance.  
“What is that?”

Sov looks up, glancing at her girlfriend and then tries to find what it is that Dae is trying to see.  
“What is what?”

“Don’t you see it? Past the forest, by the edge of the mountains? Looks like a big castle or something. Not quite as big as Divinity’s Reach, but still pretty huge.”

She turns her gaze up just a little bit and then smiles as she realizes what Dae is talking about.  
“Oh, right. Well, it kind of is, I suppose. It’s the Ebonhawke Stronghold.”

Realization dawns in the sylvari’s eyes as she slowly nods.  
“Ooh, I see. That’s the place you have been talking about all this time? Damn, it really is big, huh?”

“Well, it’s a reinforced city and meant to protect humans who have lived here for quite some time.”

“Yeah, I know, but…I didn’t expect it to be _this_ big. No one told me how many people live in there.”

Sov puts the notebook back down into her bag for now.  
“I suppose I omitted it because I don’t quite know myself. I’ve heard it might fit a few thousand people, though, and everyone are certainly not soldiers.”

“Huh. So, it’s just generations of people who’ve been living in there since the fall of Ascalon?”

“Mm, not quite. The asura helped them erect one of their gates towards Kryta many decades ago, but when the asura couldn’t come to do maintenance as often as they should, because of the charr attacks, it fell into a state of disrepair. Queen Jennah had it fixed only a few years ago, if I recall correctly.  
That said, I will agree that it is an impressive settlement, probably the second largest in Ascalon, right after the Black Citadel, if what Razok says is true.”

Dae grabs a few grapes and puts them in her mouth, chewing on them while she thinks about the city.  
“Hmm…have you ever been there?”

Sov shakes her head.  
“No, I haven’t. I have wanted to, but it has been difficult to get the chance. A lot of merchants, soldiers and officials have taken precedence over people like me, who may only have an interest out of curiosity and the wish to travel. I don’t blame them, though. And besides, because of the previously unstable nature, it was kinda dangerous to go there anyway, so my parents didn’t want me to.”

“Would you want to now?”

“Oh, yes, of course. I mean, it wasn’t a priority when I decided to travel this way, but I certainly wouldn’t mind visiting. It’s not like we’re in a rush to leave Ascalon once we’re done with our task, after all. If they’ll even let us in, that is.”

“You don’t think they’d want to?”

Sov looks skeptical for a moment, glancing at Raz who sits next to Rea and talks with her, as he seems to do a lot lately.  
“Well…maybe. I’m unsure how they’ll react to Razok being in our company, if we all decide to go that way. I doubt they’d readily let in a charr after all the fighting they’ve done through the centuries.”

Dae studies Sov for a moment, thinking that she might know other humans' reactions best, seeing how she herself treated him the first few weeks.  
“We’ll have to wait and see, I suppose.  
By the way, since you like history so much, maybe you can answer this for me.”

Sov’s attention immediately returns to Dae.  
“Go on.”

“Why is it called Ebonhawke? I mean, I think Razok mentioned something about hawk faces at the entrance gates, but where does the ‘ebon’ part come from?”

The question seemingly delights Sov, and she nods, peering out towards the fortress in the distance.  
“Ah, well, that doesn’t have much to do with the gates per se. Have you ever heard of the Ebon Vanguard?”

“Hmm…not really. Sounds like a military group, though.”

“Yeah, they are, and they’ve been around for a very long time. They’ve acted as the defenders of humans in Ascalon ever since the fall, but they started as something slightly different.  
Originally, they were known as the Ascalon Vanguard, a special section of the army, but led by the Prince of the nation, a man named Rurik. A few years after the Searing, the Vanguard was pretty much the only group still strong enough to help people out, as they had mostly acted on the defensive lines, rather than the front.  
When the situation around here seemed to be the direst, the Prince made a deal with emissaries of Kryta, and realized that the best course of action would be to travel over the Shiverpeak Mountains and join their fellow humans, who had previously been their enemies. Many members of the Vanguard volunteered to help guide the civilian refugees through this long journey, and my ancestor was one of them. The event itself is called ‘The Great Eastern Exodus’ by some historians.”

Dae is eating the last of her grapes while she’s listening, and she shines up into a smile, speaking with some of them in her mouth.  
“Really? Miljana was in the Vanguard?”

“Of course. In fact, if our history books are correct, she was one of his closest advisors, together with a woman named Devona. Miljana joined briefly before the Searing.”

“Hmm…is that how your family was turned into nobles?”

Sov shakes her head briefly.  
“Oh, no no, that’s an entirely different story that came later on. The emigration at Rurik’s side unfortunately continued without him. He died in the mountains, while trying to defend the refugees from a hostile dwarf clan called the Stone Summit.”

Dae suddenly looks somewhat saddened and fidgets with her hands.  
“Oh…I see. I didn’t know about that.”

“It’s alright, he’s more known to those with Ascalonian descent, than anyone else. He died for what he believed in at least, so that’s something positive.”

“What happened to the Vanguard later then? Why did it turn into Ebon?”

“I uh, I’m actually unsure why that name was chosen. Our old texts don’t specify who or for what reason they picked that name, but remnants of the Vanguard fought on against the charr, where some even travelled north into their enemy’s homelands, as well as into the Shiverpeaks. They tried to rescue human slaves and continue their guerilla warfare.”

“And Miljana was part of this?”

Sov puts down her bag and then leans further back onto where she’s sitting, to make herself a bit more comfortable.  
“No, she stayed away from that part of the world for quite some time. She and her companions wandered around the world for several years, helping out elsewhere, until they finally got back into the Shiverpeaks during some kind of catastrophe with dragon minions.  
It is said that she knew the two women in charge, though – Gwen and Jin Thackeray.”

“Who are they? Sisters?”

Sov smirks slightly.  
“Why would you think that? Because they share a surname?”

Dae shrugs.  
“I dunno. I just assumed that’s how humans operate.”

“Heh, well, I suppose we do, but there’s another reason why two people could share a surname too.”

Dae tilts her head curiously, seeming quite a bit more interested.  
“Ooh. They were married?”

“Mhm. Gwen was an old friend of Miljana’s, from Ascalon. She was quite a bit younger than my ancestor, but they had apparently bonded early on and met each other once more up in the mountains, years later. It is said that Miljana saw her as a little sister.  
Jin was her apprentice, who she met during her travels in…Elona, I think. I’m uncertain for what reason she sought out Miljana, nor what she was doing there. From what the sources say, Jin was from Cantha.”

“Maybe she travelled around Tyria as well?”

Sov raises a hand and scratches her cheek skeptically.  
“Maybe. Cantha is quite far away from here, though, and very few people go that route.  
At any rate, Jin and Gwen met each other through Miljana and her companions, and eventually grew to care for one another. They got married up in the Far Shiverpeaks after Gwen had taken over as the leader of the Vanguard.  
When King Adelbern called them back to Ascalon, Gwen and Jin went together, and apparently helped create the Ebonhawke Fortress with the locals.  
They have a descendant in Kryta as well, a man named Logan, who’s in charge of the Seraph.”

Dae smiles somewhat wistfully and slides closer to Sov.  
“That’s quite an interesting tale. Two women in love who led a strong rebellion for the survival of their people. Kinda romantic.”

This seems to amuse Sov and she giggles slightly.  
“I suppose it is, although it could be seen as tragic too, seeing as how the Vanguard turned out to be the only human survivors in Ascalon.”

“…you’re ruining the mood I was trying to set up!”

Sov chuckles even further and then moves her hand in towards Dae’s.  
“Sorry, dear. It just had to be said.  
But if it means anything, you know I’d gladly lead a rebellion with you as well.”

Dae smirks and leans herself closer.  
“Glad to hear it. You better be prepared for when I declare war on your parents if they try to keep us apart.”

Sov continues her amused expression as she grabs Dae and pulls her into a hug.  
“How very brave and foolish of you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Yeah, I guess it wasn't expected that I'd somehow ignore Keiran. In my current GW1 story, I mention how I've basically specified Gwen as the one with the Thackeray surname instead of Keiran, even though she's not the same type of character as him. I've completely written him out of the story as I find him bland, and the romance Arenanet wrote with those two were...well, not something I enjoyed._   
>  _In the future, I intend to write the romance between Gwen and Jin (another Hero companion) instead, in amidst my version of the Eye of the North storyline. It will take a while to get there, though._   
>  _This was sort of a way to announce this altered version, I suppose. Mostly, though, I just wanted to put it into this chapter as a way to connect the two timelines, as well as allowing Sovica to speak about the Ebon Vanguard, which I planned for them to do anyway._


	35. Searching purpose

_1323 AE – Folly’s Breach, Fields of Ruin, Ascalon_

At the day of arrival, it is early afternoon and quite bright outside, despite the thick clouds which obscures much of the sunlight. A slight breeze pushes through the landscape, not enough to disturb most of the inhabitants gathered within the charr settlement.  
Normally, Folly’s Breach is a fairly minor and peaceful village, with a rather small center, where merchants, craftsman and others all live and work, while there are several farms which surrounds the region around it. If one comes here on a normal day, it’s rare to see much commotion, as well as people, even at the market. However, this does not appear to be a normal day.

When the group of travelers walk inside, they see quite a big crowd gathered at the center of the Breach, most of them silent as they listen to a few individuals that seems to be debating something further in. As most of those present are charr, it’s difficult for the majority of the team to see, except for Katla and Rea, who remain somewhat taller than the feline people. As Razok attempts to bend his hind legs to get a better view, Daeynwe and Sovica remain content by simply listening as much as they can. Ovillus is not satisfied with this at all. If he had a golem with him, this would not be a problem whatsoever, but as things stand, all he can see is a whole mess of furred and clothed legs.

He turns to look at the sisters on his right side and pokes Katla’s left calf, making the tall norn gaze down on him.  
“Hey, Svalen, help me out here, will you?”

“With what?”

“Well, as you are probably observant enough to notice, my minuscule height hinders me from watching whatever events occur at the other side of this assembled mass of charr. Perhaps you could aid me in some fashion?”

“How?”

He sighs briefly, feeling somewhat indignant in having to plead for help.  
“…well, perhaps you can set me in a higher altitude? You have quite a natural advantage, on that front.”

The rest of the group obviously hear what happens, but none of them say anything, except for Rea. The younger sister smirks and pokes Katla’s other side.  
“He probably wants you to lift him up.”

Katla frowns in her direction.  
“What? Why?”

“Because he wants to watch too.”

Katla groans briefly and shakes her head.  
“He doesn’t need to see.”

Ovillus clears his throat to return her attention to him.  
“Well, it would be useful to observe the proceedings, whatever they are, in the same manner as the rest of you are doing.”

Daeynwe arches one of her eyebrows.  
“Huh? Me and Sovica can’t see much either, you know.”

“That is beside the point!”

Katla rolls her eyes.  
“Why do you need to see it? Can’t you hear well enough?”

“Not from this low range! Mind you, I am barely a third of your height and I assume the same goes for weight! How could it possibly be any inconvenience for you to assist me?”

“…what, you just wanna sit on my shoulder or something? No.”

“And why not?”

Katla diverts her eyes past the crowd again, noticing how some have started to glance over their shoulders at the group.  
“…it’s weird.”

“…how is it weird?”

Rea smirks and folds her arms.  
“Tsk, Katla is just embarrassed, that’s all. Doesn’t want someone sitting on her.”

Ovillus sighs and shakes his head.  
“I can assure you, miss Svalen, you will not be dishonoring yourself in any way by carrying me. In fact, I would say it is the opposite, for aiding someone in need, like myself.”

Katla glares down at him again.  
“This isn’t a matter of honor. I just feel like it will look stupid.”

“Preposterous! You’re making this issue worse than it really is.”

Sovica looks at them as well now, especially Katla, and feels annoyed.  
“C’mon Katla, you’re drawing too much attention by making him argue. Just carry him for a while.”

Katla glares at her as well now, but feels how she’s getting outnumbered by pretty much everyone else. She continues to stay silent for another few seconds, before she finally accepts her defeat.  
“…fine. But if you try anything, ‘professor’, I’m going to toss you to the other side of the village.”

He widens his eyes and then corrects his shirt.  
“Well…uh, with a threat like that, I can assure you that I will behave.”

“You better.”

She then kneels down closer to his size and offers her arm. He does his best to sit down upon it and then holds on as much as he can when she raises him up. At least he was right in regard to his weight.  
When he reaches her shoulder, she pulls her arm closer and lets him find a good spot to sit down against it. Probably better than letting him sit down behind her neck, as she doesn’t wish to mess up her hair too much. However, he does need to cling to something, and her head is the only option right now. Being so far up does seem to please him immensely too and he smiles, while patting her head.  
“Ahh, perfect! The sight from here is as brilliant as I would’ve imagined. You’re quite useful for this sort of task, Katla.”

“Be quiet, before I regret my decision, asura.”

He does as he’s told, while Rea tries her best to suppress a giggle. It doesn’t work all too well.  
“At least you look adorable with him sitting on you.”

Katla gives her a rather fierce stare too.  
“…you better shut up as well.”

Rea smirks, but holds a hand over her mouth, as she doesn’t want to fight right now.  
The debate further in the village continues, although they’ve already missed much of it, so it’s hard to properly follow. It does appear to be a discussion between a soldier and some kind of representative from the village who engages in most of it, however. From this distance, and with how some other villagers get slightly vocal at times, it’s difficult to catch every word.

They all feel like they need to catch up on exactly what occurs, and therefore, Rea decides to poke one of the nearby locals. An elderly charr man with light grey fur turns to look at her.  
“What?”

“Hey, sorry, you probably noticed already, but we arrived a bit late. Can you tell us what’s going on here?”

He nods curtly.  
“Yeah, sure. The soldiers you see over there are Sentinels from the Perch to the northwest. They came here two days ago and told us that it’s been overrun.”

Most of them look somewhat confused.  
“Sentinels?”, Sovica asks, while tilting her head.

Raz decides to take over for the local.  
“They’re a special charr organization, made up of members from all three of the High Legions, mostly volunteers. They have one purpose in Ascalon – contain the Dragonbrand and fight any of the Branded who threaten other charr territory.  
Sentinel's Perch is a fairly defensible stronghold. If it has truly been overrun…well, that’s very troubling.”

The old man continues.  
“That’s what the Legionnaire over there is telling us, anyway. She’s one of the few people who managed to flee from the attack. She’s telling us that they’re coming here next. Most of the rest of the village wants to either escape or try to fight whatever Branded comes to threaten us. This is our home, after all. The Sentinels think the latter is kinda foolish, however. They say we’ll get ourselves killed.”

Raz shrugs.  
“She may have a point.”

He frowns at Raz.  
“And what do you know, huh? We’ve lived here for decades, even surviving when that crystal bastard flew past us a few years ago. We’re not about to surrender now.”

Raz raises his hands defensively.  
“Hey, I’m not judging you, just saying what may possibly happen. If you want to defend your home, that’s up to you.”

Sovica appears somewhat uncertain.  
“Most of you don’t seem to be…erm, soldiers.”

The old charr scowls at her.  
“We’re charr, human. Compared to your weak kind, we are trained to fight from birth.”

“I wasn’t trying to insult you, merely saying that it’s...possibly too much for you to stand against alone, especially if soldiers already lost against them.”

“That doesn’t matter. I’d rather go out fighting for my home than flee with my tail between my legs like some useless cub.”

Before they can continue the conversation, they hear the Legionnaire raising her voice.  
“This discussion is finished! I’ve said my piece to all of you and you know where we stand. Now get back to your homes and either prepare to leave or to surrender your lives for whatever foolish defense you can muster. Do whatever you want. If you intend to retreat with us, we’ll be leaving tomorrow morning, before the Branded get here.”

Most of the crowd disperses, even though a lot of them look fairly unsatisfied with what she told them.  
The group at the back all look at each other, wondering what they should do.  
“Well uh, I’m gonna have to deliver this message to someone”, Raz comments first.

Rea inclines her head in agreement.  
“Maybe we should talk with that Legionnaire, see if she has anything of value to tell us about these Branded? We might be able to help.”

“Help? Look, if Sentinel’s Perch couldn’t be defended, then it’s not a great idea to stick around for whatever wave is coming this way.”

“Doesn’t hurt to ask.”

He sighs and shrugs in defeat.  
“Alright, I guess we can see what she has to say.”  
As the Legionnaire, together with around a dozen remaining Sentinels, stand at their camp in the center of the village, the group approaches them, with Raz having to address them first, of course. He salutes her with a closed fist to his chest.  
“Legionnaire, I am Razok Cogfang of the Ash Legion.”

The charr they face has a bandaged left ear, a pretty gruesome scar over the lower side of her jaw and carries heavy armor, marked with what they assume to be the Sentinel symbol – a blue-colored shield. Her fur, from what they can see of her head, is black with white stripes here and there. She regards them all for a moment with slight confusion, before she nods at him.  
“Sitae Bilefog, originally from Blood Legion, now with the Sentinels. Although, seeing what happened on the Perch, it’s unlikely that I’ll be able to stay with them for long…”

“Well, about that, I have message for you, from Centurion Flamepaw at the Ash Legion camp to the east.”

“For me? I’m not in charge here.”

“From the orders I was given, it appears that the Centurion had foreseen your defeat, as he told me to find the highest ranked Sentinel here.”

This was information that not even Rea and the others had heard, which means that the Ash agents must’ve spoken about something else in private.  
Sitae remains uncertain, but she takes the note given to her and reads through it. After she’s done, she exhales audibly.  
“This is…an interesting note. Talks about some kind of regrouping with the Iron Legion to the southwest. The problem is, me and my soldiers are in no shape to help anyone out for a counterattack. My orders at this point would actually be to head towards the closest Legion outpost to the east and give these people some rest.”

Rea looks a bit annoyed.  
“What, so you’re just going to abandon this village?”

“We’d be doing that either way. This note from Ash tells us to leave the village behind too, so it’s not like we have a choice. I’ve got no more than a dozen soldier; can’t fight what’s coming with that few. We’ve done what we can for the Breach – leaving it behind is their best option. Whether they listen or not is up to them.”

Katla folds her arm.  
“Our group fought a fairly large gathering of Branded a while ago and we came out with nothing more than minor injuries. How many was it that defeated this stronghold of yours?”

Sitae shakes her head.  
“It’s not just about the amount of them, but the size as well.”

Sovica arches a confused brow.  
“The size? How big do they get?”

“Ever seen a devourer queen?”

Most of them shake their heads, except for Raz, who widens his eyes.  
“Whoa…wait, are you telling me they’ve got a queen?”

“Mhm, and a massive one at that. I think she’s one of those gigantic siege type queens we’ve only heard of in the certain areas. With the dragon’s corruption in her, she’s been infused with dangerous magic, enough that she can launch crystals that could shatter parts of our stronghold’s walls. Along with a regiment of Branded…well, we didn’t stand much of a chance.”

Raz slumps his shoulders and shakes his head.  
“Shit…that doesn’t sound good at all.”

“Nope, it sure wasn’t. Many were slaughtered in the initial wave, before we tried to hold our ground. It was hopeless, though, and we lost many of our top officers. Several got turned too, and therefore, the few of us left had no other option than to flee. That’s when we moved towards the Breach.”

Dae looks interested, but also a little bit puzzled.  
“Why did you come here? If your fallback orders were to head towards the east, I mean.”

“Well, that was the plan, but I couldn’t just let this village be destroyed without at least a warning first. They needed to know what was coming, so that they could escape too.”

Rea watches her curiously, as she keeps her arms crossed.  
“You really think there’s no chance of stopping them?”

“Well, maybe if we retreat towards the closest fortified Legion outpost. The location we’re heading to is a fort and that might be enough to stop them. We dunno how much of their numbers have diminished either, of course.  
I think the problem is that damn devourer queen. No one can defeat it. Its carapace is sturdy as steel and we never got a good shot into it. The magical blasts it fires are immensely powerful.”

The two sisters share a look for a moment, before Rea begins to smirk.  
“Sounds like a challenge to me.”

Katla seems rather intrigued instead and nods in agreement.  
“It sure does. I wonder how strong that carapace really is.”

The rest of the group watches the two of them with mixed emotions. Ovillus is the one who shows the most dismay.  
“Wait just a minute here…please tell me you are not contemplating the possibility of defending this town from the monstrosity the Legionnaire just told us about.”

Rea grins at him.  
“Actually, that’s exactly what we should do. I think we’ve got a real shot.”

“…you’re insane! An army of charr couldn’t defeat this group of Branded. How are the six of us supposed to do it?”

Katla looks down at the asura.  
“It’s not just the six of us. The villagers in this town will want to defend their homes too.”

“They’re farmers!”

“They’re charr – most of them have had military training.”

Sitae, who’s still here, of course, looks at them as if they’ve gone mad.  
“Hold on. I mean, uh, this is true of course, but I believe you’re underestimating this queen and her legion of Branded slaves. Our stronghold stood no chance at all.”

Rea places her hands confidently at her hips.  
“That’s because you didn’t have a group like ours. We’ve got a diverse set of skills and strengths, unlike most military organizations. We have martial prowess, mixed with magic, accurate ranged abilities and technological power and explosions.  
Me and my sister here, Katla, have fought the Icebrood, even some of Jormag’s strongest minions. We know what it takes to pierce the defenses of those bastards. If given the opportunity, we know we can make it happen.”

Katla nods in agreement.  
“Yeah. You just need to act swiftly, combining diversions, precise strikes and appropriately applied pressure to weak points. We can defeat that queen for you.”

Out of the group, except for Ovillus, Raz also appears a little bit skeptical.  
“Well, the problem is actually getting to her. She’ll have loads of minions in the way. We can’t fight hundreds of Branded swarming around us without aid.”

“I know. That’s where the diversion comes in. The town will have to take the brunt of the attack, while we target the queen.”

“And then", Rea adds, "once the queen is dead, we swoop in from the back and crush the rest of the Branded between us and the villagers. There may be some casualties, but I’m sure we can do it."

Sovica turns her gaze towards Sitae.  
“If the villagers get some help from the Sentinels around here, they might be able to succeed.”

The Legionnaire shifts her eyes between the assembled group before her and she raises her claws defensively.  
“Uh, what? Didn’t I just tell you that we plan to retreat?”

Rea smirks.  
“You did, but that is only if you have to, right? Isn’t your duty to contain the Dragonbrand?”

“Yeah, but…I mean, against overwhelming odds, we have permission to flee to another territory, before striking back. We won’t be able to hold our own without defensible positions.”

Raz raises a hand to scratch at his chin.  
“How long is it before the Branded reach our position?”

“I dunno. They didn’t chase after us immediately, but they’ll likely fan out and take every settlement they reach. Since this is the closest, they’ll probably head here first. Maybe another few days at most? We’re not sure.”

“Well, I’m an engineer and I’ve done makeshift barricades during combat before. I believe we can repurpose some furniture and some of the metal fences in town to act as just that.”

Rea smiles as she hears the suggestion.  
“Yeah, and this village is also placed on a slightly elevated position. If you have oils, alcohol, maybe some bottles, we could make some weapons to use for creating fire. Perhaps explosives too, to keep them back.”

“Yup, I can help them out. Besides, I’m willing to place some of my portable turrets in town to help out with defenses.”

Sovica wants to pitch in too.  
“I believe I can alter the earth around the edges of the village, perhaps to create a wall. Will take me a few hours, but with enough effort, I could create a reasonably useful defensive structure.”

Sitae listens to them all, and feels herself shift in between hope and uncertainty.  
“But…there may still be too few of us. The Branded are several hundred.”

“So?" Rea asks, sounding fairly confident. "You’ve got the people of this settlement who are willing to fight for themselves. You could get up to a hundred people, I’m sure."

“You’re overestimating their numbers. I’ve seen their current state and there’s no more than maybe thirty capable fighters. We’ll be severely outnumbered.”

Katla shrugs.  
“Numbers aren't everything. You’ve got a good position to defend and people willing to give their lives. Besides, the Branded are mindless foes, with no thought of strategy or tactics. If you manage to hold them back and reduce their numbers, they will eventually fall, especially if you got us as well.”

It’s a tough call to make, especially for someone who likely doesn’t have the experience of commanding any major forces in the past. Sitae is not a coward, but she doesn’t wish to die for a foolish cause either.  
She seems to dwell on the issue for a few moments, before she eyes them all slowly.  
“Are you all in on this as well? Can you promise us that you’ll defeat the devourer queen? You’ll be doing something that I’ve only seen several squads of charr do together.”

Rea grins eagerly.  
“Of course we can! Katla and I live for this kind of challenge. We’re not gonna back down now.”

Katla herself nods to show she is with her sister. Both of them look at the others, and Raz is the first to display his stance.  
“I’ve already agreed to help with fortifications. I won’t abandon you now.”

Sovica offers a small smile.  
“I’ve done very few things for charr in the past and I’ve never fought against any major group of foes like this. But the dragons and their minions want nothing more than destruction, and a small village of farmers and crafters like this does not deserve such deaths. I will gladly help to protect them. It’s what Miljana would’ve done.”

Dae flashes a confident smile of her own.  
“Good fights are part of any adventure and I’m here for that! Besides, if Sovica intends to fight monsters, then she won’t go without me.”

The human leans over and kisses her girlfriend’s cheek as a reward.  
All attention is then turned towards Ovillus, who still show a severe case of uncertainty. He looks between them for a moment, before he shakes his head and sighs heavily.  
“…I’m so going to regret this, I know it…”

Sitae nods with a bit more determination.  
“Alright, if you intend to stay and fight, then we’re with you. The Sentinels don’t back out from a battle, even with terrible fucking odds like ours. We’ve got no more than a few days of preparations, so I suggest we start right away.”


	36. Storm on the horizon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _A little more Daeynwe and Sovica in this chapter._

_1323 AE – Folly’s Breach, Fields of Ruin, Ascalon_

The last two days have been heavily focused on preparations for the village’s defenses. Barricades have been put up, everyone who can fight has been given a weapon and a position to stand by, squads have been formed and everyone is set to report to one of the Sentinels if anything happens. The ones not quite capable of fighting has been assigned other tasks around town, like securing the supplies and handing them out whenever necessary. They do have an escape route out of the town for now, but it’s very possible that the Branded might compromise it, if they completely surround the village once they arrive.

Sovica, as the only elementalist in the settlement, has been trying to create her own fortifications for the defenses, by using her magic to raise a wall consisting of tightly packed earth, which almost completely encompasses the village. It’s not perfect, and it reaches no more than three meters up in the air, as well as being two meters thick, but it’s a good initial defense, especially as Folly’s Breach is already placed on a bit of an elevated position. It took her most of the two days they’ve spent here to create it, as she had to rest in between several sections. Using magic too heavily can drain on her mind and she doesn’t wish to get an overload before the fighting starts.

Now, on the third day, she’s walking around the length of her creation, making sure it remains intact and that there are no gaps which she needs to fix. She does feel rather proud of herself for having accomplished it, and while no one can be sure if it’ll hold, it is at least the most impressive part of their defenses.  
While she’s engaged in this activity, she doesn’t notice how someone sneaks up behind her, until a set of arms wrap around her waist and a face takes its place at the right side of her neck. A light gasp leaves her lips at first, but her eyes notices a familiar set of purple hands further down her body. She smiles and raises her own hand to caress the leaf-shaped hair so close to her own.

“Dae, you startled me.”

Daeynwe smiles as she nuzzles against Sovica’s neck, pulling the human a bit closer as she puts a few soft kisses along her skin.  
“Sorry, didn’t mean to. Just wanted to see how you were doing, but it was too tempting not to embrace you.”

“Tsk, you’re lucky I didn’t try to hit you with a rock.”

“Wouldn’t have worked. I’m too fast for you!”

Sov chuckles and shakes her head, shutting her eyes while she leans back. The sylvari’s arms are a place of safety to her.  
“And yeah, I’m fine. Was just making some final preparations for the attack. I have a feeling that it might occur relatively soon.”

Dae takes a deep breath and shivers somewhat at the thought.  
“Yeah, I’m getting the same sensation.  
Wasn't really concerned about the defenses, though. I’m wondering how you’re doing. Are you…nervous?”

Not quite the question she expected, but it is reasonable to ask.  
“About the attack, you mean?”  
There isn’t a vocal response, but with Dae snuggling close to her, Sov can feel how the sylvari nods slightly.  
“Well…yeah, I suppose I am. Despite everything we’ve done so far, I have to admit I’m still somewhat scared.”

“That’s understandable.”

“I have been in combat before, obviously, and even though this trip has put me up against all sorts of creatures I couldn’t have anticipated that I’d have to fight, this giant…monster is definitely something above that. The way Sitae described it to us was very…unnerving.”

Dae recalls how they were called in yesterday, when Sitae and a few of the other Sentinels had to explain what exactly it was they were about to face. Not exactly the best mental image that she could’ve asked for, but at least they know now.  
“I agree.”

“We do have several strong fighters, and people with adequately tactical minds, but…I’m not sure it will all matter in the end. The chance that we’ll all die is still very possible.”

Despite what they’re talking about, Sov does still sound fairly calm. Dae suspects it is just to reassure herself.  
“Rea and Katla believes we can do it, though. In fact, Rea sounded fairly confident last time I spoke to her. They believe their experiences with the Icebrood can work here too.”

“Well, that’s certainly comforting, but I’m not sure whether it’s a sign we’ll succeed or not.”  
Sov smiles and shakes her head, while she looks somewhat distant for a moment.  
“Despite the fear I have, I somehow still know that I can and want to do this. This whole endeavor just feels so…right, somehow.”

“Right?”

“Mm. It’s really good to just be out here and protect people who need us, especially from dangers like the Branded. Reminds me of the old stories about Miljana that I read as a kid.”  
Her smile turns wistful.  
“As an old hero of Kryta, she travelled to so many different places and villages, to help out whenever needed. I’ve heard tales from virtually every section of my homeland - everyone has a tale of their settlement getting a visit from Miljana and her companions. I always wanted to be like her one day, but obviously, my parents wouldn’t allow it to happen. Said it was too dangerous.”

Hearing Sov speak like this, brings some courage and joy to Dae as well and she places a few more kisses along her girlfriend’s cheek.  
“I’m very glad you managed to prove them wrong.”

Sov snorts amusedly and shrugs.  
“Yeah, I guess. But then again, I’m also helping the charr out. It sort of makes me wonder what Miljana would say if she ever heard about one of her descendants doing such a thing.”

“You don’t think she would approve?”

She tilts her head back and forth, considering her response.  
“Well…maybe. I’m not really sure. She didn’t encounter charr her entire life, but early on, when she still lived in Ascalon, she was known as a vicious charr slayer, accompanying her friend in the Ascalon Vanguard, Captain Devona. Both of them carried out many covert strikes on their enemies’ camps, outposts and patrols. Their reputation grew both among my people, as well as the charr.”

“Do you believe she enjoyed it?”

“I don’t know. Our stories don’t really mention how she felt about it, only that she did it. Perhaps it was just to defend their own, or maybe she actually wanted revenge. That’s why doing this makes me unsure how she’d feel.”

It’s not exactly vital information, nor will it probably change Sov’s mind about what they’re doing, but Dae feels it’s still important to her girlfriend. Trying to help her decide on what to believe, Dae moves her hands to envelop Sov’s, speaking softly into her ear.  
“If she was truly a hero like you’ve said, then I have a feeling she would be proud that you’re protecting innocents, no matter how they look or who they are.”

While it may just be a way for Dae to appease her, Sov still enjoys the gesture. She smiles, turning around while she remains in between Dae’s arms and moves so that they face each other. She wraps her arms around the sylvari’s neck and leans closer, pushing their lips together into a soft and endearing kiss.  
When it ends a few seconds later, they still continue to rest their foreheads together.  
“Thank you. But enough about me – how are you doing? Haven’t had a chance to ask you that yet.”

Dae simply shrugs, not showing the same hesitation as Sov.  
“A little bit worried, I guess, but for the most part, I’m actually really excited.”

“Excited?”

“Mhm. I knew that coming to Ascalon with you and the others would turn into a real adventure, as it’s what I’ve been pursuing even while I was in Kryta, but I never thought I’d get to do hero stuff too.”

The passionate way in which she exclaims this, is rather adorable to Sov, enough that she starts to laugh.  
“Not sure we should be calling ourselves ‘heroes’ just yet, dear. I mean, we’re just providing a defense for a village that will come under attack.”

Dae grins rather confidently in return.  
“Oh, just you wait, gorgeous. When all of this is done, people will certainly remember us that way. It’s going to be amazing.”

“Yeah, unless we all fail, obviously.”

“Hey, none of that attitude! We’re too badass to fail, anyway. You’ll know it when everyone cheers for us.”

Sov smiles and shakes her head. It’s still a nice dream, though.  
“You’ve read too many fictional stories like that, Dae. Are you the protagonist in this hero’s tale as well?”

“Naturally. I mean, I already have my pretty lady.”

Another laugh, as she pulls the sylvari in.  
“You’re an idiot.”  
Instead of waiting for a response, she pulls Dae into another kiss, this one deeper and more passionate. She doesn’t actually intend to show her approval of these fantasies, but she doesn’t really mind them much either.

Unfortunately, they cannot linger on these thoughts for too long, as they are interrupted by a noise that echoes throughout the village – alarm bells which originate from the top of the tallest building.  
When they turn their eyes towards the northwest, they see the oncoming horde in the distance. Battle is coming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Sovica may have a sort of rose-tinted view of Miljana. I guess that should be obvious by now._   
>  _There's four more chapters to go of this story, and the next one is going to be the last Eir flashback. Only one chapter will be dedicated to the battle with the Branded, because I feel like that's enough. Hopefully it will be fairly entertaining._


	37. To break from turmoil

_1319 AE – Stonewright’s Steading, Hoelbrak, Shiverpeak Mountains_

For probably the fifth time this morning, Eir digs her hands down into the bag that she has left on her table, looking through the contents as thoroughly as she can. Food supplies, water containers, medical gear – it’s all in there, as far as she knows, but she has to make sure that she doesn’t forget anything. She doesn’t know for how long she’ll be gone, nor how far the journey will take her. There might be beasts to hunt or merchants that will provide her with what she needs, in exchange for coins or something else, but she has always survived by being sufficiently prepared before going into something like this.

After a few minutes of searching through it, she realizes that, once again, everything she wants to have in there is present. As far as she knows, anyway. Maybe she has left something behind? Might be best to get one last look.  
Before managing to get very far, however, she hears an annoyed low growling sound from the door and when turning to it, she spots the familiar sight of Garm sitting there. He gives her a look and then faces the outside, clearly indicating where he wants to go. It brings a smile to her lips.

“I know, I know, I’ll be there soon enough.”  
He lets out another growl, almost as if he would be muttering.  
“Hey, pushing me won’t get this done much faster, you know. But…you may be right. I suppose I’m being overly cautious.”

It’s not that Eir has never been outside her homeland. In fact, she has travelled to several other places in the mountains and even far to the south, such as Lion’s Arch. However, this is somehow a different situation altogether. Her reasons for leaving this time is somewhat different and it’s very possible she might not return for years; it all depends on if she and her recent companions can succeed with their endeavors. Thankfully, she managed to convince Knut Whitebear to watch over the house from time to time, or at least having one of his closest and most trusted to do it, if he’s not available. Not everyone can ask the unofficial leader of Hoelbrak to do such a thing, but she has had a special place here for years.

“Alright, I should be done now. Let’s get going, I suppose.”  
Hearing this, Garm stands up and lets out an excited bark, his tail wagging somewhat to show his appreciation. Technically, he’s smart enough to get the door open on his own, but he doesn’t want to leave if she doesn’t.

When Eir exits, shuts and locks the door, and begins to leave, she notices a presence in the area. Standing by the ice sculptures to the north is a rather tall individual; another norn, by the looks of it. At first, the ranger can only see the long black hair, the greatsword on their back and the dark blue coat dancing in the wind, but when she throws her bag over her shoulder and takes a few steps closer, she widens her eyes in recognition.

“Katla?”

The elder Svalen sister had her eyes directed out over the landscape past the statues. As the homestead is placed on a slightly elevated position, it gives quite a nice view out over the rest of the valley, which makes up the city.  
However, when hearing Eir’s voice, she turns and watches her for a moment, before giving her a slight nod.  
“Eir. It’s been a while.”

Not exactly the greeting she had expected after all this time, but she’ll take anything she can get.  
“Yes, it…it certainly has.”

Katla gives the wolf a quick look as well.  
“Hello, Garm. Looking strong and healthy as always.”  
He sits down not too far away and emits a short bark, probably in agreement.

Eir approaches her, moving rather slowly as she does. It’s kind of ridiculous, as she feels how she’s being very cautious, just like she would be if approaching an animal without scaring it. She catches herself in the act, realizing that Katla won’t run away if she gets too close. Well, hopefully she won’t, anyway.  
“What are you doing here?”

Katla diverts her gaze to the ground for a moment and then shrugs.  
“I wanted to speak with you.”

“I see”, she says, while letting the bag slide off her arm and she places it on the small amount of snow on the ground. As this is far from the events she had anticipated this morning, she’s almost at a loss for words. Is this even real or is she having a weird dream before her journey begins?  
“Well uh, how have you been?”

It’s gone about six years now since they last spoke, and except for occasionally seeing each other at a distance, it’s the first time since then that they’re this close. Was that really the best question to ask?  
Katla seems unperturbed by such thoughts, though.  
“I’m fine, for the most part.”  
And as laconic as ever.

“That’s ehm, good to hear. Still keeping yourself busy?”

“Pretty much.”  
Katla exhales, possibly annoyed by her own response.  
“Although, things aren’t as they used to be. I am not, at least.  
Rea complains that I continue to throw myself at our enemies, but I have tried to become more mindful of how I reach these goals.”

Eir smiles, glad to hear that some things are not as static as she may have feared.  
“That’s good. You have to adapt to new situations, or they’ll eventually catch up to you.”

“Yeah, I guess.”  
For a few moments, she appears troubled for reasons that Eir can’t really figure out, but Katla soon gathers enough courage to explain why she’s here in the first place.  
“So, I’ve heard certain rumors about you.”

“Have you? What kind of rumors?”

“Such as that you’re leaving Hoelbrak soon. With a group of outsiders, no less.”

The word has spread very quickly then, more so than she would’ve wanted. Well, not like it matters much. It’s probably for the best that most know of her intentions and where she aims to go. At least for now, anyway.  
“In that case, you’ve heard correctly. I have formed a guild with a few people – like you said, outsiders – called Destiny’s Edge. They’re very capable and formidable allies, though. I like them.”

“I see. That is quite a…brazen name for a guild.”

Eir laughs, not knowing whether it’s a joke, compliment or insult, but she doesn’t care either.  
“Perhaps, but I suppose that may be the point as well. We’re aiming to perform great deeds, you see.”

“Of what kind?”

Folding her arms, Eir looks out over Hoelbrak as well and smiles almost wistfully.  
“We’re going to fight the elder dragons and hopefully take down some of their toughest minions. Who knows, maybe we will try to do some damage to the beasts themselves.”

“You think that’s possible?”

She faces Katla then with a certain determination, something the guardian only saw in the past, when Eir headed into battle.  
“I do. After watching and joining them in combat, I’ve come to respect them greatly. I believe they’re some of the best representatives of their respective races, and together, it’s very likely that we can do some real damage against Jormag and any other dragon we have to face.”

Katla continues to stare at her in silence for several seconds, until she eventually inclines her head in agreement.  
“Your courage is admirable as always, Eir. And, for some reason, I have a feeling you’re telling the truth. I mean, with you leading them, the chance of success is pretty much undeniable.”

Eir blinks and then clears her throat.  
“Well…I am not so sure about the leadership part. I’m not really much of a leader and-“

She stops when Katla raises her hand to interrupt her.  
“You’re wrong. Leadership has always been one of your foremost skills, Eir, and denying it won’t make any difference.”

Eir hesitates, looking down into the snow as she tries to cope with the praise. In her mind, too often, she recalls the failures of her decisions and some of them still haunt her, no matter how small they might seem.  
“I…I don’t know, Katla. I may have tried in the past, but history has shown me it does not always turn out the way I hope.”

“No? I believe some might disagree.  
Was it not you who led the defenses at the Siege of Halvaunt several years back? Or the Hunt for Svanir’s Claw?”

“Yes, but-“

“And last I heard, you led the assault on the Dragonspawn pretty recently.”

Eir rolls her eyes, seeing the point that Katla is trying to make. She’s not wrong either – Eir has always been pretty proud of most of those accomplishments too.  
“It was a team effort.”

“Perhaps, but a team effort coordinated by you.”

She manages to make the ranger smile at least and shake her head.  
“If you insist, I suppose I can’t decline.”

A very faint smile soon adorns Katla’s lips and she turns her gaze to the snow, seeming distant.  
“You know what Birger always used to say about you? That you weren’t a true norn.”

Eir looks surprised, arching a doubtful eyebrow somehow. Would Birger be that crass about her? Or talk behind her back? That doesn’t seem like the old man’s style.  
“Did he?”

“Yes. He used to say that you were far too eager to call for others to join your side and lead them into battle, rather than search for personal glory. He mentioned how you see the benefit of a group, instead of being the lone sword. Not many norn do.”

It seems she managed to trick the ranger, and Eir’s smile returns, wider than before as she chuckles and shakes her head.  
“Well, I suppose the old bastard had a point, then. Not the nicest way to put it, but I won’t complain.”

Katla’s smile persist as she nods curtly.  
“I agree.”

Eir takes a few steps closer, correcting her bangs when they try to get into her eyes, while the wind blows at them.  
“You know, Destiny’s Edge is a fairly small group so far. I believe we would certainly have a few available spots for some capable warriors. If you happen to know of any, that is.”

Despite the suggestive manner, Katla doesn’t seem to need much time to contemplate it as she shakes her head.  
“I appreciate the sentiment, but I don’t think it’s for me. I doubt I’d be any good for your team either.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure. You’re stronger than you might realize, Katla.”

“Maybe, but a guild isn’t really my style. Besides, Rea and I have plans of our own and we have to pursue them. Can’t be pulled into any other business.”

Eir sighs, but she only looks mildly disappointed.  
“That is a shame, but I understand how you feel. I won’t push it.”

“Thanks.”  
Katla takes a deep breath as she swallows the current rather happy mood, when she realizes that she has to steer things in another direction.  
“Eir…I didn’t come here just to ask about your guild.”

Studying Katla’s expression, which turns to uncertainty, she nods and crosses her arms again, trying to get herself prepared for what may come. She was surprised that they’d get such a pleasant conversation after all this time, but maybe it’s not quite what she had hoped.  
“Alright. Well, speak your mind. I will listen.”

Several seconds passes by, as Katla attempts to find the right words for her thoughts and feelings. It’s obvious that this is difficult for her, which makes Eir realize that it must be important.  
Eventually, she seems to settle on something specific.  
“Birger once told something important. He said that ‘a Guardian is not just a fighter, but a protector. It’s in the very name, so it should be obvious. This means that a Guardian is nothing without people to protect and allies at their side, who they can trust. If you have neither, you might as well leave this path and find your death in peace’.”

Eir contemplates the words and while she has not heard him say these exact sentences, they somehow feel familiar.  
“That does sound like Birger.”

Katla nods in agreement and turns to face her.  
“Eir, you are one who I’ve always been proud to fight beside, as there are few others that I trust as much as you. And even if you won’t need it, I would risk my life to protect you, as should be expected of me.”

Eir begins to smile again, her chest filling with warmth.  
“I’m glad to hear it. It has always been mutual, Katla.”

Katla closes her eyes, sighs and shakes her head.  
“No, it hasn’t. I’ve been a fool for too long. I’m sorry, Eir – you were right all those years ago, while my choice was stupid and led me astray.  
If it wasn’t for Rea, I’d likely be dead now, and I suspect your advice helped focus her direction. I wish I hadn’t said what I did, but I can’t return those words now. It’s just that-“

Before she gets much further, Eir takes several steps forward and throws her arms around Katla, pulling her in and embraces her tightly.  
“By the Spirits, Katla, you don’t need to apologize. We’re practically family, and during our last conversation, as unfortunate as it was, I understood how you felt. I have done so ever since.”  
She runs a hand up towards Katla’s head, caressing the back of it very gently.  
“Loss is a difficult thing to deal with, and you were so young when you had to endure it for the first time. It’s remarkable that you have stayed so strong for all these years, in spite of it.  
All I want is for you to be happy, Katla, and to find a way to live without regrets. However, I have always hoped that we can resume our connection, similar to what we had in the past.”

It takes several more moments for Katla to finally react, and when she does, the hunter feels a pair of arms wrapping around her as well and the younger norn soon rests her head against Eir’s shoulder. When she speaks, it’s almost a bit shyly.  
“I…I’d like that too. I have missed you.”

“And I missed you.”  
Eir closes her eyes and lets this hug last for as long as she can muster. She has to leave very soon, but she wants to remember this before she goes.

When they finally decide to end it, Eir feels a thought forming in her mind that can either be very stupid or surprisingly brave. Before the argument, she would likely have dismissed it as something foolish and left it at that, but now, it might at least let Katla understand more of how much she means to Eir.  
Seizing upon the courage, Eir raises her hands up to Katla’s cheeks and pulls her closer. She pushes herself up somewhat, enough for their bodies to collide and then locks her lips with those of the other woman. The kiss is soft and slow, lacking in passion, but it doesn’t really matter – Katla begins to blush regardless. While it would seem to be somewhat contradictory, Eir wants to prove that she understands Katla’s feelings and cherishes them, despite not returning them.

While their lips part, Eir opens her eyes again, amusedly watching a stunned Katla, as she strokes a few fingers along the reddened cheeks.  
“Take care of yourself, Katla. Whenever I return, I hope to hear of your rising legend.”

Katla has to clear her throat, in order to regain her voice.  
“I…yeah. Good luck, Eir.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Not sure how obvious it is, but I've not read the book. I've only seen the summary on the official wiki, but I didn't feel it was very important for this chapter anyway._
> 
> _Also, that's the last Eir flashback chapter for this story. I'll probably write more stuff with Eir in the future, as I think she's a great character and I want to have her interacting with Katla and Rea (especially after the events of this story), but that will probably have to wait a while._


	38. Fight past doubt

_1323 AE – Outskirts of Folly’s Breach, Fields of Ruin, Ascalon_

The warning bells of the village kept sounding until it seemed like they might continue through the night, but stopped just shortly before the attack. The initial estimates of how large the force would be were at least slightly off and, thankfully, to the townsfolk’s advantage. Well, somewhat, anyway.

Apparently, the Branded hadn’t come with their full strength towards this particular location, but instead either kept much of their forces left inside the fortress they had taken, or possibly spread out into several different directions. Either way, the town still has to contend with several hundred of Kralkatorrik’s mindless minions, which tries to rush the gates from two different directions. Not a masterplan, but certainly enough to divide what little troops the village has. The Sentinel’s guns, along with Razok’s automated turrets, helps keep some of the enemy back for now, and Sovica’s earth wall takes a while for them to dig through.

At the same time, on the outskirts of Folly’s Breach, a small group watches the entire encounter, while also keeping their eyes upon another Branded force that marches closer. This one includes a few dozen troops, corrupted from various races, all surrounding their massive leader – a Branded devourer queen. While the stories had been bad, actually seeing the creature up close somehow turns out to be much worse.

Daeynwe sits behind a rock at the edge of the forest, where the group is currently hidden, and widens her eyes in surprise.  
“Whoa. That thing is bloody huge! How are we supposed to take it down?”

The creature’s body reaches up a few meters above ground and is probably around fifteen to twenty meters long. A few large legs poke out from the reinforced body, along with two sharp claws at the front and a pair of massive stingers from the rear. All along its back, legs and stingers, they can see purple-pink crystals pulsating, giving off an eerie aura. Power must linger within this creature, which is not particularly comforting.

Razok has his rifle resting against his shoulder, as he and Rea hide behind trees nearby one another.  
“Yeah, that’s not what I had expected. Didn’t know those bastards grow even larger when they get tainted like that.”

Rea frowns and nods in agreement.  
“I guess the ‘queen’ rank is justified. Along with her troops, it might be a bit of a tough fight for just the six of us.”

Out of the group, it is Katla who seems to be the least worried, although this was probably expected by most. Her eyes are strictly focused on their main target while she snorts.  
“We’ve faced poor odds before. This one is a bit bigger, but we’ll just have to employ more strength.”

Rea is amused by her sister’s unwavering confidence, while some of the others remain unconvinced.  
Ovillus interjects in their little discussion as well.  
“Whether brute force will be the defining feature of this battle is uncertain, but I do have a suggestion which we may be able to utilize in defeating our…sizeable foe.”

Sovica is sitting on the ground not far from him, behind a bush, and looks interested.  
“You’ve got a plan, professor?”

He ignores the title that is continuously used for him and nods sharply.  
“Whether it’s sufficiently effective, we shall see, but I remain confident that the plausibility of success is greater, than by not using it.”

Katla looks down at him and nods.  
“Go on then.”

He pulls forth the bag from his back, digs his hand down into its opening and extracts a small familiar box.  
“You all remember the orb which we liberated from the Inquest, yes? I have been thoroughly examining it and conducting some experiments – within moderately safe conditions, of course – to see if it could be exploited for an advantage against the Branded.”

Sov raises a hand to rub at her chin in thought, while nodding with interest.  
“Hmm, that does sound like a good idea. Did you manage to complete it?”

“Well…yes and no.  
My initial hypothesis, that it could be used to control the dragon’s minions, unfortunately ended in failure.”

Raz appears a bit confused.  
“Wait, how did you test that out?”

“Oh, I had certain…preserved specimen, for various reasons, before we met and I had merely been waiting for an opportunity to test their essence further. This orb appeared to be the perfect tool. Alas, I seem to have been mistaken.”

Katla looks somewhat annoyed at him and exhales softly.  
“Where are you going with this? Do you have a plan or not?”

“Such impatience on display, my tall associate!  
As I was attempting to explain, when the first hypothesis proved to be inoperable, I decided to test an entirely different characteristic, which I assumed would be far easier to accomplish – its destructive nature.  
And this hypothesis, thankfully, succeeded in its execution. Therefore, I have now turned this orb into a weapon. Well, partially, at least.”

Sovica sighs.  
“It’s unfortunate that it had to be used like that. We could’ve received more details about the nature of the Branded.”

“Perhaps, but as time was short, I believed we needed every advantage.”

Rea looks up for a moment, trying to see where the queen is and while there’s still a bit of distant to the village, it’s closing in.  
“Okay, so what do we have to do?”

“It is simple, really. Well, the actual dispensing of the damage will be, but the approach? Not so much.  
You see, I have altered its nature to be damaging upon touch by something of a similar substance. If a Branded were to come into direct physical contact with the orb, it will explode and cause a fair amount of damage to the creature. Most of them would likely disintegrate, but I suspect that this ‘queen’ with its natural reinforced plates and enhanced magical defenses, will only be temporarily impaired.”

Dae smirks.  
“But it will give us a chance to take her down, yeah?”

“Indeed! Well…if you can actually get within range to apply it.”

As they all eye the enemy’s forces, they realize the monumental task at hand; someone must get close enough to touch the devourer, without dying along the way. The power at its disposal is likely enough to kill them if they get shot by it, which isn’t very encouraging.  
“Right, so uh…how are we supposed to make that happen?”, Razok asks, as he breaks the silence.

Ovillus looks unsure, glancing between the rest of the team.  
“I…must admit that my speed is most likely inadequate for success.”

Dae crawls along the ground, closing the distance and then grabs the small box directly from the asura.  
“Don’t worry, I’ll handle it. I’m faster and more agile than any of you. I’ll get this done.”

As she’s the one to volunteer, Sovica does, naturally, display a measure of concern.  
“Wait, Dae…you can’t just run in there on your own. You’re swift, sure, but you can’t get past all of them without some help.”

“You’re probably right. I guess you guys have to create some kind of distraction.”

Rea sighs and raises a hand to scratch at her hair.  
“Right, distraction. Anyone have a suggestion?”

Suddenly, without prior warning, Katla grabs her blade from its hilt, and marches out from her hiding place.  
“Follow me.”

Her sister widens her eyes.  
“Katla? W…where are you going?!”

But Katla doesn’t listen, as she instead increases her speed and charges out against the enemy forces. Magical lights flicker across her finger tip, and when running them over the flat side of the greatsword, she forms Guardian runes that imbues the blade with power. Once her foes have seen her, it’s already too late, as she leaps up against them, swings her blade around and launches a wave of energy that sends the first row of four or five Branded tumbling to the ground.

Rea groans, rubbing at her forehead.  
“Dammit, why does she always have to do this?”  
However, right after saying that, she pursues her sister, with Grawdr at her side and she starts to provide some backup from afar.

The attack has at least diverted disaster from the village, as the devourer queen and her forces are now turning to take care of incoming enemies. However, the rest of the team hesitates, unsure of how they’re actually going to proceed with any success.

Raz is the first to act out of the other four, grabbing his bag and rifle to prepare some kind of defensive perimeter.  
“Dae, Sovi – you two should try to get to the queen. I’ll provide cover from the forest and hopefully distract a few.”

The two women nod in agreement and stands up, getting ready to move. In the meantime, Ovillus clears his throat.  
“And…do you have any suggestions for me?”

“You can summon minions, right? Get a few of those bony bastards out across the enemy’s flank and keep sending as many as you can. All we need to do is keep ‘em occupied long enough for these two to stab the big bastard.”

“R-right! Necromantic cannon fodder shall be prepared for an assault!”

Raz smirks and runs out to the field right outside the forest, deploying a few of his tools, before he steps back again, getting into cover behind a rock and starts firing his rifle into the large group of enemies that are now running towards Katla and Rea. At least the older sister is fairly robust and difficult to take down.  
As this happens, several masses of flesh and bone comes sprinting out from the forest and moves in a direction to directly tackle some of the Branded that are too focused on their living foes. While they don’t do a great deal of damage, Ovillus’ forces help in causing more chaos.

Sov and Dae try to move through the edge of the forest, hoping to be able to get around the Branded and get a straight shot at the queen. They watch as the devourer summons magic into her stingers and then launches some kind of giant ball, surging with power, straight towards the forested area where Raz is sitting. Thankfully, the charr has already managed to run into cover and it just barely misses him. They do still hear him cursing, even from this distance.  
It appears that the rest of their foes are not as stupid as to leave the queen entirely open to attack either, as some of them have remained in a defensive line around their leader. This of course causes a bit of trouble for the duo of how to remove them.

“Well, I guess I’ll have do my best in simply getting past them. If I get a good momentum, I should be able to evade any pointy bits.”

Dae seems satisfied with her own conclusion and as she receives no immediate protests from Sov, she gets ready to execute the plan. However, the human was also surveying the battlefield for weak spots and seizes Dae’s arm before she can leave.  
“Wait! I have an idea.”

“Oh, alright. Go on.”

Sov pushes her cloak slightly to the side and checks a bag hanging from her belt, where Dae can hear some slight clinking noises. She lifts a small bottle with an odd yellow and orange liquid inside, grabs Dae’s wrist and places it in her hand.  
“This is a flammable alchemical liquid. Raz helped me make it. If you can throw it down in the middle of the enemy and somehow ignite it, I’ll help you get as close as possible.”

Dae looks at the bottle, blinking in confusion.  
“...huh? But what are you going to-“  
And then the plan emerges in her mind and she starts smiling somewhat excited.  
“Ooh! Right, I get it! Heh, that will be fun to watch. But how to do I get it burning?”

Sov smiles and inclines her head in the direction of the sylvari’s belt.  
“Those guns can be kinda explosive, right? I suggest trying them out.”

The thought of this makes Dae grin and she nods eagerly.  
“Oh, this will be good. Let’s go for it!”

She starts running again, faster than Sov is able to, but the human only has to remain in the back for now anyway.  
Sov decides to assist her girlfriend’s approach by spreading her arms across each side, calling for the aid of the elements and soon after, launches a rain of pebbles and small spike-shaped bits of earth, that slam against their corrupted foes. Not exactly a flawless strategy, but it helps distracting them from their true target.

At another front on the battlefield, the distractions from various sides has helped Katla in getting ever closer to the queen, but she’s still not in any proximity to launch an attack. In the meantime, she has to parry strikes from the foes that surround her, duck or use the enemy’s bodies to occasionally avoid getting shot by magic-using Branded and then summon her own spell to knock them all back, and give herself some respite.   
Her prowess and huge supply of stamina helps in keeping her up and continuously fighting new opponents. It gives her little time to actually finish some of those that she manages to slash or stab, however, which allows some of them to heal and rise again. On top of this, she doesn’t come out of it completely unharmed either. She can feel the prickling sensations of pain across certain parts of her body, but she ignores it for now.

Further back, Rea launches arrow after arrow against multiple foes around both herself, Katla and Grawdr. The polar bear’s claws are quite useful against some of the reinforced hides of the enemies they face, but Rea doesn’t want to risk him getting too hurt and sometimes orders him to pull back when larger foes appear.  
At the same time, as she has range on her side, Rea also figures that it might be worth it to at least try to shoot the queen while she’s here. It doesn’t seem like the devourer is very good at firing upon something that is too close to her, and Rea is currently within that radius, which gives her some safe space. Unfortunately, the first shot turns out to be a bust, as it doesn’t even manage to pierce the hide. She has a few specialized arrows that can do more damage, but doesn’t want to waste them until she has a better angle. Seeing how many enemies still move to attack them, she figures it’s best to save them for later.

Not all Branded stick to their leader, however, and several have separated in an attempt to take down the charr that is causing some trouble for them. This should be a problem for him, as he’s just supposed to offer suppressive fire, but the closer they get, the smugger he seems to be.  
“Heh, that’s right, ya little bastards, come to Raz…”

He fires a few more shots, trying to give them more incentive to hurry up, even though each bullet misses. Once they’re close enough, they suddenly realize why.  
One of the Branded at the front has the unfortunate poor luck to step on one of the mines in the middle of his trap, which sets off pretty much all of the others in the surrounding area, one after another. Within seconds, the entire group that came at Raz is nothing more than smoke, scorched flesh and bits flying through the air. The sound of this is intermingled with the charr’s hearty laughter.

Within the Branded ranks at the back, Dae appears, as she has infiltrated their defenses and several of the beasts moves to intercept her. Instead of drawing her blades, Dae tosses the bottle down onto the ground. It breaks and the alchemical liquid splashes across the grassy field, and would likely be soaked into it after a while. The sylvari doesn’t intend to wait that long, and pulls out one of her pistols, takes a few steps back and fires twice. The first shot merely creates a spark, but the second is the one that allows the flames to burst into existence and immediately begins fueling themselves on the grass. Normally, this can be handled fairly swiftly and shouldn’t be a disaster for creatures like these, but the flames on display have more life to them, thanks to someone nearby.

Sov reacts to the increased elemental energies in the air and closes her eyes to try catch the flames’ attention. Fire is not as easy to manipulate, as its interest is as fleeting as its existence. However, Sov is an experienced elementalist by now and soon seizes control.  
The first thing she does is to spread it as widely as possible and makes the fire shoot out into an expanding circle, as it tries to envelop both the soil and the ones walking upon it. The earth isn’t very appreciative of this, but she can’t be accommodating it at this time.

What would seem to be a normal fire hazard, instead develops into a flaming storm in the hands of Sov, which even deters some of the others on her side. Both Katla and Rea are a bit surprised at the flames increasing size, but soon understands who’s the one in charge of them. Whether they do a lot of damage to the Branded is debatable, but they definitely cause a stir. This is useful for Katla, who breaks off and instead attempts an attack on the flank, trying to reach the queen.

The first one to pop up close enough to their largest opponent, is Dae. The sylvari raises the box in her hands, opens the lid and grabs the orb within. As she’s rather small, the queen hasn’t yet noticed her, but Dae still needs to remain alert as to not get trampled. However, she quickly realizes that she forgot something – how exactly is she supposed to make this happen? Does she need to break the orb first or maybe throw it from a distance? Will it hurt her as well, if she stands too close? She knows next to nothing of magic and therefore has no clue how to use a dangerous object like this in a safe way.

Eventually, Dae groans in irritation and resolves to using the simplest method possible – she smashes the orb against the queen’s closest leg.  
The crystalline item shatters in front of Dae’s eyes and some kind of energy appears to emerge from it. As it’s so close to the queen already, it injects itself directly into the creature and seems to simply flow through the natural plates.  
However, what is likely supposed to be a simple transfer, instead turns into a painful penetration and Dae sees a quick flow of light across the devourer for a second, before it emits a pained cry and stumbles backwards, almost dropping to the dirt. Parts of its own crystals fall to the ground and break.  
While the leader remains standing, it’s clear now that it has weakened, and a proper assault can be launched.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Right, since battle descriptions always takes so long, I'll be splitting this one into two. Next chapter will have the conclusion to the fight._


	39. Strength of souls

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _There's only three chapters left of this story, and so, I'm going to speed up the release schedule a bit._   
>  _Each of the three chapters will be out this week, with one today, another on Friday and then the last on Sunday._

_1323 AE – Outskirts of Folly’s Breach, Fields of Ruin, Ascalon_

The pained screech from the Branded devourer queen echoes out across the area, getting the attention not just from the defenders of the village, but also from the creatures which shares its essence. For a moment, it gives the Sentinels and the other charr a slight reprieve, but also a chance to retaliate against opponents without proper defenses. They turn everything they have at the enemy, hoping to cause some devastation before things return to as they were.

At the same time, the small group assaulting the queen itself gains a surge of hope that they may be able to succeed with this task after all, despite having seemed so impossible.  
Unfortunately, just as Ovillus had predicted, the orb’s power was not enough to take down the queen, simply weaken it. The first one to get a taste of its infuriated vengeance, is Daeynwe. As it regains its footing, the attention is turned to the sylvari, who’s now attempting to get some distance away from it, but doesn’t get very far. Long and thin crystal spikes suddenly protrude from one of its legs, being directed towards Dae and then fires. They fly through the air with the speed of arrows and two hit their targets; one in her leg and another in her gut.

Dae widens her eyes in shock and pain when the crystals penetrate her, but she remains standing for a few more seconds. She grasps at her hip, finding one of her pistol, raises it, and fires off at least one shot at the weakened hide of the devourer, before she falls to the ground.  
Across the battlefield, Sov notices the exchange and when she sees her girlfriend falling, shock descends upon her mind.  
_“No, Daeynwe!”_

In a fit of panic, Sov uses the fire to sweep it across the Branded in her path, before spending the energy which remains to bring two fire elementals to life. After that, she abandons her post and runs as quickly as she can to get to Dae, before the devourer considers finishing her off.

The others also hear what happens, for the most part, and Katla frowns as she realizes what must be done – they have to kill the queen now, or victory cannot be achieved in this fight. Shifting her gaze towards her closest ally, she spots the other Svalen.  
“Rea! I have an idea of how to take that beast down, but you need to help me.”

At that moment, Rea ducks beneath the clawed arm of a corrupted charr, and then gets in behind it, shooting two arrows straight into its back, which makes it fall over. She faces Katla directly afterwards.  
“Alright, I’m listening, but you better make it quick!”

“I’m confident I can strike at one of its weak spots, but I need someone to distract the queen itself. You know, keep its attention for a while, enough for me to get close.”

Rea arches a slightly confused brow.  
“What, can’t you get close now?”

“No, because it’ll shoot me just like it did Daeynwe. But if it has something else to focus on, that might give me a chance.”

She quickly realizes what her sister is talking about now and it makes her sigh.  
“…dammit. Not exactly the kind of thing I wanted to hear from you, Katla!”

“I know you can do it, Rea. Just keep your distance and you should be fine.”

At first, she rubs her forehead as she hesitates, dreading what’s to come, and then she sighs, while shifting her gaze towards the asura nearby.  
“Ovillus! You and your minions have to take my position and distract the other Branded!”

When hearing this, Ovillus widen his eyes.  
“Excuse me?! I have enough to deal with as it is! What are you even-“

He doesn’t get much further, as Rea has already begun moving, and while Katla follows her, she tries not to get all too close.  
In the meantime, the queen seems to be trying to target Razok’s position once more with its stinger’s magical attacks. Despite the fact that he’s been doing a good job at keeping out of the impact zones, he’s losing ground quickly and more Branded are running to come get him. He can’t evade forever, not if he wants to stay in the fight.  
However, just as it prepares the attack, an arrow lodges itself into its now weakened hide, around the side of the body. It’s not enough to do an immense amount of damage, but as the projectile had a special edge meant for piercing, it probably hurt quite a bit, at least by the sound of the pained growl.

When it turns its attention in the correct direction, Rea stands there on the field, too close to be shot by the stingers, but still being outside of melee range. The younger Svalen sister grins and waves at it.  
“That’s right, you oversized bug, that was my arrow and there’s plenty more where it came from! Why don’t you try to shoot me instead, huh?”

The bait seems to work, as the queen suddenly starts moving, rushing towards her as swiftly as it can. At the same time, Rea spins on her heel and runs the other direction, hoping to be able to keep a balance of not being shot, while also not being caught by the claws – one slash and she’ll probably be down for the count.  


* * *

  
On another part of the battlefield, Sov has reached Dae’s position and to her dismay, she spots the familiar sight of golden liquid on the ground - the appearance of sylvari blood. She kneels down by Dae’s side and with trembling hands, she touches Dae’s cheek and arm. The shallow breathing and shaking she sees from Dae doesn’t really improve the situation.

“Dae! Can you hear me?”

The sylvari opens her eyes, but they only go halfway. At the same time, she displays a rather weak smile up towards Sov.  
“H…hey there, beautiful. Didn’t…quite go as I would’ve hoped.”

Sov shuts her eyes and shakes her head, trying to do her best to hold back any tears.  
“So damn stupid, Dae! Look at you! You should’ve been more careful!”

“S-sorry, I…I simply wanted to try getting in close and stab it somewhere. Didn’t…expect another set of defenses. Guess I got too close.”

“Well, you’re not going to die here as long as I’m around.”

“But…you have to be careful, Sovi. You can’t touch these crystals, they might-“

Sov herself isn’t quite listening as she pleads for the earth’s help and Dae sees how the soil around her begins to rise, forming two sets of arms and hands that grasps at the crystal in her stomach.  
“I’m going to pull this thing out of you. Just hold on, okay? This _will_ hurt.”  
Quickly shutting her own eyes, Dae digs her hands into the ground and prepares herself for the inevitable. A shout of agony erupts from her mouth when the earth arms rip the crystal out of her and throws it as far away as possible. For Dae, who has never experienced quite as much pain, it’s both a terrifying, excruciating and exciting event all at once. For the most part, though, she wishes it wasn’t happening to her.

“Fuck...”

“Don’t worry, I’m still here. Stay with me, Dae.”  
With hands fumbling around her belt, Sov eventually finds the bottle she was looking for, tearing the top off as quickly as she can, and then uses her magic once more to let the water flow out in a steady stream and grasp at the wound in Dae's abdomen. Another problem arises at this stage, as Sov senses through the water’s warnings that the wound is quite severe and healing the plant-based race is not as easy as the others.  
However, when hearing how Dae’s breathing is still heavy and shivering, she realizes that she can’t give up. She’s not going to lose her girlfriend, not after all this time spent together.

“Sovica, I…”

 _“Don’t._ Stop talking, Dae. Just let me take care of you. You’re going to make it out of this, I swear.”  


* * *

  
Seconds passes by as Rea keeps running, with the huge beast coming right after her, just a few steps behind. She can almost feel how its claws slashes at her and when she tries to make her way past rocks and a few bushes, she senses how they get crushed or thrown out of the way of the queen’s path. It’s going to reach Rea soon and both of them know it.

However, this is when someone comes running up next to them, on the left flank, and rushes down the hill that they just passed. With all she can muster, Katla leaps towards the devourer and tries to grasp at its side to push herself up. It continues to walk despite the impact her weight has on it, and with a forced surge of strength, the elder sister heaves herself up on its back.

So far, the plan is working pretty well, but Katla doesn’t get much of a chance to breathe out, despite reaching her destination. She tries to grab some of the non-crystalline spikes on its back to hold onto, while the queen slows down, now that another threat has appeared.  
At first, she figures that the devourer might attempt to throw her off in some way, which is why she holds on, and this proves to be its first instinct. However, to Katla’s dismay, she sees movement above her head.  
“Ah, Bear’s ass. I knew this would happen.”

Immediately after, Katla has to roll further along the back, when one of the stingers attempts to pierce her, just barely missing when she switched position. Despite hoping it might’ve sustained some damage, it looks like the devourer is mostly unharmed by its own attack, and this also means it’ll continue going after her without fear of any setbacks.  
Rea has stopped now that there’s no more movement after her and she instead has to witness her sister practically wrestling with the monster.  
“Katla! Watch yourself!”

“That’s what’s I’m trying to do, dammit!”

Even though she’s unsure about what’s going to happen, and while she’s sort of glad not to be chased anymore, as she’s almost out of breath, she lifts her hand to grab an arrow.  
“If you try to keep it still, I can get a shot in at its head!”

At that moment, Katla just barely manages to stay on its back, as another stab of the stinger attempts to hit her, and then the devourer begins shaking again to throw Katla off, but she hangs on.  
“…having a bit of difficulty just staying up here, Rea! Trying to direct it is not going to happen!”

Rea snorts and shakes her head, preparing another armor-piercing arrow.  
“Okay, I’m going to just shoot at what I see then!”

“Hey! Try not to hit me, will you?!”

Rea would laugh, if they weren’t in a pretty damn deadly situation. Instead, she concentrates and fires one of her arrows, hitting its target, but because the devourer is moving in so many different directions, it only hits further up along the queen’s back – not enough to do severe damage, except perhaps hurting it a bit. However, at this stage, such pain is useful in order to make the devourer lose focus and allow Katla to continue towards…wherever she intends to go.

Despite difficulties to stand, having to avoid being tossed off or stabbed, Katla pulls out her sword and tries to rise. Her eyes seem constantly focused at the forward section of the devourer and after a few more arrows from Rea, the older sister decides to take the opportunity for another leap.  
She grips the hilt of her blade with both hands, pushes her feet as hard onto the back of the creature as she’s able to and lunges forward.  
Accompanied by a loud battleshout, Katla flies through the air and lands not too far from the head. She aims the blade downwards along with her fall, and with as much strength she can muster, pierces the devourer’s weakened hide with such a force that dark violet blood spews out from the wound.

Normally, the queen would now easily be able to get Katla to leave its back, but because of its mind being clouded by pain and how it has a sword lodged through the weakest spots upon its body, it can do nothing but stumble around meekly, while shouting its agony across the battlefield. This eventually stops as well, as it succumbs to the inevitable and falls forward out of exhaustion.

During the swift and sudden action, Katla loses her grip and footing, and falls forward off the beast, hitting the ground hard. Because she rolls through the air, her back takes the brunt of the fall, but the speed of the impact makes her bounce at least once against the ground and then slide along it. Thankfully, Rea has made her way towards her sister and captures Katla before she gets too far, making the older sister fall with her upper body into Rea’s lap. Katla emits a sharp groan despite the softer landing and then breathes out.  
“Hey, you okay?”

Katla shuts her eyes and grits her teeth momentarily.  
“I…think it would be too soon to comment. Pretty sure I’ve broken half of everything. But I’m alive.”

Rea snorts in amusement and shakes her head.  
“Yeah, you sure are. You’re also damn crazy, you know that, right?”

They both look up as the crystals on the queen’s body seems to lose their glow and fades into darkness, while the stingers slump down on the ground in defeat. Victory belongs to the group, despite all of the odds stacked against them.  
Further away, they hear Raz erupting into cheerful shouts, and also a few from the village, but before Rea can do anything, she senses how Katla tries to move.  
“Help me up.”

“What are you doing?”

“There’s still a battle to be fought. We need to help save the village, or this won’t be over.”

Rea chuckles and shakes her head, but does her best to help her sister to her feet.  
“They won’t be able to turn this around now, Katla. We’ve won this fight. But hey, shooting a bunch of monsters is a good way to celebrate, right?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _The battle was supposed to end a little bit differently in my mind, but I'm mostly satisfied with this. I think._


	40. To the smoking dawn

_1323 AE – Folly’s Breach, Fields of Ruin, Ascalon_

A stream of laughter, cheers and relieved shouts echo throughout the village, almost being emitted by every single surviving member of the settlement. It’s hard for them to imagine what they actually managed to accomplish here, despite the odds and being outnumbered so many times over, by foes that should’ve easily defeated them. Of course, it’s clear to the inhabitants that it couldn’t have been done without a certain group of valiant fighters, who risked everything for a bunch of strangers. This is why they’ve been doing everything they can to thank them, and will continue doing so for as long as they’re willing to stay.

These sounds are rather distant to a specific person who is resting on a bed in a small shed at the outskirts of the village. However, despite not being so close, they still reach Daeynwe’s ears and disturbs her rest, enough for her to push back into consciousness. As she does, the first she notices is how her vision is blurry and not overly functional. She has to actually blink several times in order to get back some semblance of a steady sight, but it doesn’t get very far. At the same time, it appears that her mind has suddenly realized what’s going on and therefore shoots the lingering pain throughout her body, which forces her to emit a groan.

This noise isn’t loud, but still enough to get the attention of the other woman in the area. When hearing her girlfriend whimper, Sovica immediately turn towards her and moves to her side. She notices how Dae fumbles around in confusion and therefore seizes one of the hands.  
“Sovi?”

“Whoa, easy there, darling. I’m right here”, she says, while entwining their fingers. Dae instinctively squeezes her hand around the human’s as well.  
“You shouldn’t move too much just yet. You’re still recovering.”

Still being a bit disoriented, Dae can only look around the walls, rather puzzled by what’s happening.  
“Wha…what’s going on? Where…?”

“You’re in a shed, which I’m using as a temporary location to let you rest and recuperate. It’s the best they could offer us with walls.”

“…right. Why am I…?”

“You remember the fight against the Branded?”

Her memories are still somewhat jumbled, but she tries to force herself to get anything back that could help her understand her situation.  
“Hmm. Oh, yeah, the Branded. We were fighting them.”  
Suddenly, her eyes open wide.  
“The devourer queen! We…we were fighting her, right?”

“That’s right, we were.”

“Did we uh, win?”

Sov smiles and turns around a bit, helping herself sit down next to Dae, while still holding and caressing her hand.  
“Pretty much, yeah. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be sitting here together right now, would we?”

Dae chuckles lightly and shuts her eyes, while stroking her thumbs slowly at the back of Sov’s hands.  
“Good point. Sorry, my mind is still a bit hazy, I guess.”

“Not surprising. You took quite a beating out there. But hey, we did survive and succeeded in saving the village. It was damn close there for a while, but a victory is a victory.”

Dae nods, showing how pleased she is by smiling.  
“Definitely. Although, guess I kinda missed most of the exciting action.”  
Opening her eyes again, she looks around and tries to assess the situation.  
“Where are the others?”

“Some of them have their own places to sit or lie down for the moment, which means sharing with some of the villagers. They’re nearby, so don’t worry about them walking away or anything.”

“Why are we not with them?”

The rather reasonable question makes Sov clear her throat before responding.  
“Well, you know, I preferred to let you have your own place to rest. I told them that you needed someplace quiet and peaceful, away from others.”

Dae watches her and begins smiling when she realizes how Sov probably wanted the sylvari to herself.  
“You arranged this especially for me, did you?”

“Obviously. Only the best for the woman who holds my heart.”  
Sov returns a similar expression and raises one of Dae’s hand to plant a soft kiss at the back of it. The gesture makes Dae grin slightly.

“Well, could you tell me what happened during the battle? I know it’s not important, but I want to know.”

Sov nods, her eyes drifting away for a moment as she attempts to recall everything they went through.  
“Yeah, sure, I guess you deserve to hear it from me anyway. The victory was quite spectacular.  
After you used the orb on the devourer queen, I unleashed a duo of fire elementals on our enemies, and let the others take care of the fight. I didn’t see everything that happened after this, but I know that Katla had some kind of plan to take it down and made Rea distract it for a time.”

“Distract it? How?”

“She shot the beast with some special arrow and because it couldn’t use its stingers on her while she stood too close, it pursued her instead. The chase lasted only for a few minutes, as she ran around the area, and got closer to some hills – that’s when Katla leaped up on its back and began trying to crawl towards its head. At the same time, it continuously tried to stab her, so she had to be careful. Naturally, Rea helped her out, by shooting more arrows as distractions, which eventually succeeded when Katla stabbed her sword into its head.”

Dae lets out a soft laughter.  
“Wow, wish I could’ve seen that happening. What about the other Branded?”

“Razok and Ovillus made a valiant attempt at holding them back during all the chaos, together with my elementals and Grawdr. Once they had killed the queen, the sisters rejoined the fight and without their leader, the rest of the Branded was too much in disarray to provide a proper challenge.”

“Damn, that’s pretty impressive. We really won after all, despite how bleak it was looking at first.  
Where were you during all this? Didn’t join their fight?”

Sov smiles at her, extracting one of her hands to instead move it towards Dae’s face. She then slowly caresses the sylvari’s cheek while looking into her eyes.  
“I couldn’t, as my primary focus was keeping you alive. A lot of my magical strength was drained in doing so, which meant that all I could do was offer some small support through elementals.”

There’s a small passing feeling of disappointment that Dae not only missed the majority of the biggest battle she has seen since she awakened, but also for making Sov do it as well. However, this disperses as she focuses on another aspect.  
“Got to say that I’m very glad you did, as you saved my life. Thank you, darling.”

Sov shakes her head amusedly, squeezing Dae’s hand in response.  
“Well, I couldn’t just let our hero die out there, now could I?”

Dae blinks and then arches a brow.  
“Hero?”

“Yeah, because you managed to break the orb on the queen, it brought the beast into such a weakened state that hurting it was finally possible. Without your brave act of doing so, I doubt we would’ve taken it down as easy as we did.”

When suddenly realizing how useful she really was, Dae begins to grin a lot more confidently and even laughs a bit.  
“That’s…that’s awesome! I thought I had been useless for falling like I did, but I guess I helped save the day, after all.”

“Yup, it was very useful, indeed. However,” she says and shifts the position of her hand to poke at Dae’s nose, “I don’t want to see anything foolhardy like that again. You almost got yourself killed! I was terrified that I’d lose you for a while.”

In spite of the slight scolding, Dae giggles in response.  
“Sorry! I didn’t have much of a plan at the time, so I had to do my best. But we won, right? That’s what matters here.”

“Sure, feel proud of our success, but try to be smarter in the future, okay? I spend enough time worrying for you whenever you do something stupid.”

This makes Dae smirk at her, and while she doubts she’ll be able to not take any risks in the future, it’s best to keep quiet about it for now.  
“Alright, fine, I promise I’ll be more careful next time.”

“Next time?”

“Anyway! How did the others do? Are any of them hurt?”

Sov sighs, knowing she’s going to have to raise this subject with Dae again some other day.  
“Most of them came out of it unscathed, at least in terms of major injuries.  
When they fought the stragglers, Rea got slashed across the leg, because she didn’t pay enough attention. I think she was kinda tired too.  
Razok’s fur got a bit singed during his time trying to avoid the queen’s bombardment, but Katla was the one who got it worst, right after you.  
The impact from falling off the queen made her break some of her bones, and then she continued fighting afterwards anyway. Had to scold her for a while as well, about not fighting while being wounded. She’s also recovering as we speak.”

Dae chuckles when trying to consider how it must’ve looked with Sov yelling at Katla, and wonders if it helped even a little bit.  
“Good to hear that no one gets away from your caretaking skills, love.”

“Someone has to try to keep you all alive, right? You sure aren’t sufficient at it yourselves.”

Which is a fair point, even though Dae would say they all did pretty well, despite having suffered injuries. Shortly after, she’s momentarily distracted by the noises outside, which seem to rise in volume on and off.  
“Hmm, what’s going on out there?”

Sov glances at the door for a second and then back to Dae.  
“Oh, that’s just the villagers celebrating, probably. After what we did, they’re now calling us all ‘heroes’ or something.”  
She rolls her eyes and then smiles.  
“I guess you got what you wanted.”

This does indeed seem to make Dae quite excited and she tries to sit up.  
“Really? Then we should go out there! I want to see and talk to them all, while-“  
Her body suddenly tenses up and she gasps as a sharp pain runs through her stomach and further down along her leg.

In reaction to this, Sov places a hand on her chest and very gently pushes her back down.  
“Hey, easy now. With your injuries, you’re not going anywhere. I may have been able to stabilize you, but that doesn’t mean you’re in any condition to walk around.”

Dae sighs in disappointment and pouts slightly, even though she knows that this is for the best.  
“But…but I want to!”

“Yeah well, being the only proper healer in this place gives me the authority to order you to remain in bed until you’ve recovered some more. That means you’re staying put until I say otherwise.”

Another heavily exhale and Dae lowers her head to the pillow in defeat.  
“Not fair. They’re all having fun out there without me!”

Sov manages to smile again and shakes her head.  
“Luckily, the celebrations won’t run away from you, not for several more days. They’ve already told us that they wish to thank us properly and this means we’ll get to enjoy ourselves for a while longer. Don’t worry, I’ll take you out there tomorrow if you’re feeling better.”

“Fine, fine, I guess you win.  
However, I have to ask, will the hero of the day at least get a special reward for helping us win and almost sacrificing herself in the process?”

The question makes Sov arch her eyebrow at first, before she displays a slight smirk.  
“Tsk. Fine, I guess she may deserve that much. What would she like, though?”

Dae’s eyes are locked with hers for a moment, before slowly travelling down.  
“I think you may have an idea what she’s interested in.”

Indulging the lustful mindset for now, Sov slides a bit further up along the bed, moving her body closer to Dae’s. She raises a hand to run it through the leaf-like hair and leans her head down. When she’s close enough, she guides their lips to collide, pushing down against Dae’s and locks them in a gentle, but enduring kiss.  
She doesn’t wish to hurt the sylvari any more than she may already do, but Dae doesn’t appear to have the same concern. This is why Sov feels one hand caressing her side, down to her hip, and the other pushes along her back, to make her come even closer, as long as the kiss lasts. This allows for their chests to touch and bump into each other, much to Dae’s delight.

Several seconds later, she decides to interrupt it, but stays within range to have their noses nudged together.  
“Let’s not go all too far, dear.”

“Mm, but maybe I want to.”

“Pft, I’m not going to let you get hurt even more, just because you’re aroused. You’re not getting anything more than me in your lap, not until you’re up on your feet again.”

Dae snickers.  
“Oh well, guess I can live with that for now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Couldn't really end this thing without a Sov/Dae moment first, obviously._   
>  _The last chapter arrives on Sunday._


	41. Bonded through blood

_1323 AE – Folly’s Breach, Fields of Ruin, Ascalon_

Several more days have passed by in the small charr village and at this point, a lot of the temporary fortifications that were put up - along with several remains of the Branded creatures, as well as fallen villagers - have been removed. There’s still work to be done, but more and more, their surroundings are starting to resemble the sight of how things used to be.  
In a way, it’s fairly impressive that they’ve been able to work so quickly, because several evenings and nights have been spent on celebrating, not just their success in the battle, but the fact that their saviors survived and have been recovering quite nicely.

At this time, it is late morning and the group is seated together inside the village’s only inn, enjoying some breakfast. It’s somewhat questionable whether they should be out there helping with reconstructions or not, but most of them are still fairly tired and rather sore. They also feel the need to discuss what they’ve went through during their trip and another topic that they may have neglected up until now – the future.

Razok is currently enjoying a piece of fried meat, which is still rather bloody and turns to look in the direction of two of his comrades.  
“Katla, Dae – how are you two feeling? You’ve been bedridden the longest so far.”

The older Svalen sister snorts, sips on her mug of water and shrugs when she puts it down.  
“I’m fine, mostly. Could’ve left bed days ago, I’m sure.”

Sovica sits a few chairs away, next to Daeynwe, and arches a brow in Katla’s direction.  
“Excuse me? Is that your unprofessional medical opinion speaking? Because I’m pretty sure I would’ve disagreed with that statement.”

Katla rolls her eyes, while the rest of the group starts laughing.  
“...yes, you’ve told me already. Several times.”

Rea grins and pats her sister’s shoulder.  
“Hey, you should probably pay attention when she explains these things, Katla. She _is_ a healer.”

Sov clears her throat.  
“Uh, not sure I’m a qualified healer, but I definitely know more than your sister.”

“Exactly! I trust your word, at least.”

Katla glares at Rea.  
“Yeah, I’m sure you do – you like to make my life more difficult.”

She gets another grin from Rea in return.  
“I guess it’s just fun to have someone else yell at you for a change.”

Dae watches them, but soon turns her attention in Raz’s direction.  
“Oh, and don’t worry about me, I feel well enough to start running already!”  
She glances at her girlfriend.  
“Uh, that is, if Sovi agrees with me.”

Sov smiles and shakes her head.  
“I would tell you to stay in bed at least a few more days, but knowing you, it’ll be impossible to stop you from doing whatever you want.”

“That’s…not true! I listen to your advice.”

“Yeah, listen and disregard when you get too excited.”

Dae giggles and leans closer to plant a soft kiss on Sov’s cheek.  
“Don’t worry, I like it when you get protective too, even though it’s somewhat overzealous.”

“Your health is an important matter, Dae! I’m not gonna take it lightly.”  
She smirks and raises a hand to gently ruffle the sylvari’s hair.  
“Besides, I have a feeling you need someone to watch over you. Bet your sister would agree.”

Dae rolls her eyes.  
“Not you too.”

This gets Raz and Rea laughing simultaneously, and even Katla displays a faint smile. The older Svalen sister also turns to look at their asuran companion, who doesn’t seem all too well.  
“Professor, are you alright?”

Ovillus groans somewhat as he sips on some kind of different drink than the rest are having.  
“Yes, I…I am fine, thank you. I believe that my mental capacity may be somewhat diminished this morning, due to the rather…excessive number of beverages that I might have tried last night.”

This makes Raz grin.  
“Hey, I did tell you not to join Legionnaire Sitae for drinks. She can take way more than you.”

“I had no choice! She challenged my physical capabilities to handle her customized concoctions, and I had a reputation to uphold!”

Sov smiles and tilts her head curiously.  
“Uh, what reputation is that?”

Ovillus groans and shuts his eyes, as another bit of headache descends upon him.  
“I am…not sure anymore. Probably some drivel about superior intellect connected to increased tolerance. Clearly all nonsense and I should have kept my verbal orifice shut.”

Once more, other members of the group begin laughing, except for Katla, but she does seem amused.  
“Nice to know that someone could convince you of that, professor”, she remarks.

They spend another minute or so enjoying their food, before Rea decides to pick up a subject they haven’t had all too much time to speak of just yet.  
“You know, I just want to say, now that I have the chance - I think you all did well in our fight. It was a great battle, one of the finest I’ve been involved in, and I’m proud of having been able to fight beside each of you.”

Her words bring both a somber and pleasant mood to the table, with each of them nodding in agreement.  
“Yes, it was indeed quite an honor for me as well. I have never had the opportunity to fight beside such noble souls before”, Sov says.

Ovillus mirrors her movement.  
“I shall have to agree with these assessments as well. On top of those concerns, I was also able to learn more of battle tactics and frontal assault techniques, that I have only ever theorized and studied in the past. It was a most fascinating experience and I managed gather much necessary data in the process.”

Dae grins slightly when she thinks back to those events, despite some possible personal mishaps.  
“I may have missed out on the good parts, but it was a great fight! Haven’t had that much fun in quite a while – this includes all of our previous battles too.”

Sov smile and shakes her head.  
“Please don’t do anything like that again, in the future. I’d prefer to have my girlfriend stay intact for a while longer.”

On another side of the table, Katla folds her arms and seems somewhat distant for a moment.  
“So, what are we going to do now? Our fight is over and many of the goals we set out to achieve, have been met.”

Her comment seems to silence most of the group, as they realize they have indeed been able to do much together, but there are now many possible options ahead.  
“Well, technically, this would also be a good opportunity to split up, right?” Rea remarks.  
“We went here together to begin with, because we had a joint assignment, but we’re free from it now and have been paid quite handsomely too. I suspect we have a wide variety of goals that we’d like to pursue, which may not necessarily align.”

This brings even more uncertainty to the group, and perhaps a slight bit of sorrow at having to leave each other. Sov folds her arms and leans back in her chair.  
“You’re right, we probably do.”

“For me and my sister, there are still much prey to hunt within Ascalon, both dragon minions and otherwise, and we may wanna chase after them. And Sovi, I suppose you’d want to go elsewhere, and look into more historical facts about the old human kingdom?”

Sov nods slowly in return.  
“Most likely, yes.”

Raz lifts a hand and scratches a bit beneath his jaw.  
“I guess my superiors would want a report about the events around these parts. After that, I might be reassigned, now that my warband will have to rebuild somehow.”

Ovillus does his best to look past the haze of his hungover and rubs the bridge of his nose.  
“Personally, I have many endeavors left to investigate within Ascalon as well, as I need to study the nature of the dragons still. It may take me in a different direction than the rest of you.”

They hear a sigh from Sov’s direction and her shoulders slump somewhat in disappointment.  
“It’s kind of sad to think that we’d all leave each other now. I really like this team and we’ve done a lot of really good things together; the kind of accomplishments I don’t think I could’ve ever achieved without you.  
Before I went on this trip, I knew very little of each of your peoples, and the idea of learning more felt…very distant. I never would’ve believed I’d call a charr or norn my friend, that I’d be discussing the nature of magic and dragons with an asura, or that I’d fall in love with a sylvari. It has been…extraordinary in many ways.”

They all nod, as it seems their feelings align with hers. Katla leans her body forward and rests her arms on the table.  
“Everything has to end eventually, but you’re right, it would be a shame to split this team up. We are…unique, somehow.”

Thoughts run through each of their heads, as if they try to find some reason to continue. They could of course just do it and damn the consequences that might form, but for a few of them, that will eventually end being difficult to justify, unless they have good reasons.  
Dae is the first to interrupt these drifting ideas.  
“Well, maybe we should do something about it. Like, I dunno, start a guild?”

Everyone turns to look at her then, several of them seemingly rather surprised.  
“A guild? Shit, I…hadn’t thought about that.”, Rea tells her.

“It’s not such a weird prospect, though, is it? Loads of other people have chosen to do so in the past, and many of them have been in small groups, like ours.”

Ovillus runs a hand over his chin, as he ponders the suggestion.  
“You are correct, of course, but what exactly would this type of organization do? There has to be a purpose.”

Dae starts to smile then.  
“Well, obviously, we’d want to focus on exploration, investigation and battling dragons.  
I mean, sure, we’re not Destiny’s Edge, but we’ve done very well so far despite not being quite as famous or experienced as them. Together, we have a wide variety of good skills, resources, as well as contacts that we can use.”

They notice how Raz seems to be nodding to himself.  
“You know, guild activities could be a plausible excuse to get a reassignment order for, if I request it. Rytlock Brimstone, members of the Sentinels and Lionguard, and a bunch of other people have been able to do the same. Don’t see why I wouldn’t get it too.”

Katla turns to look at Dae.  
“It is a good idea and an honorable goal. I like it.”

Sov smiles quite eagerly as well.  
“Indeed, and with my family’s name backing us, I believe I could find a way to provide resources and contacts to our cause. The Vlasic reputation stretches quite far among many kinds of people.”

Even Ovillus seems somewhat excited on his end.  
“It is quite a fascinating prospect, miss Daeynwe. This could definitely increase the potential to further my research, especially if I have goons-…  
ahem, I mean _colleagues_ to help me investigate!”

The majority of the group’s members break out into another set of giggles and chuckles.  
“I…I am so glad that all of you are as excited as I am!”, Dae exclaims, with a large smile of her own.  
“Wasn’t really sure at first if everyone would think it’d be stupid.”

“Well, we’d need a name”, Katla says.

And here comes another dilemma that they hadn’t yet considered. Rea crosses her arms and nods.  
“Oh yeah, that’s true. We need some kind of title for this guild, a banner of which to spread the word of our prowess and deeds. Just using our own identities wouldn’t be enough.”

Raz clicks his tongue and tilts his head from side to side in thought.  
“Yeah, it’d have to be something catchy too, to make people really remember us.”

They sit and ponder it together for another minute or so. Dae is the one who eventually breaks this silence and puts her hands together in front of her.  
“Well, it would have to be something grand and unforgettable, right? What about…Eternity’s Guard?”

They see how Rea inclines her head, but she also seems a bit skeptical.  
“Not bad per se, but, perhaps a little bit too…grandstanding? It may not be exactly what we’re after.”

Ovillus clears his throat and speaks next.  
“I believe we must have something both informative and summarizing. Therefore, I have a suggestion of my own – The Society for Collecting, Investigating, Examining, and Naming Capable draconic Evidence.”

The others look at him with various degrees of doubt, and only Rea dares mention it.  
“Uh, Science?”

“Precisely! Is it not marvelously clever? I thought of it myself just now!”, he says, while looking exceedingly pleased with himself.

Rea clears her throat.  
“Well uh, it is definitely…unique. Perhaps it’s not quite what we’re after. I mean, it’s very long, since we’d have to spell it out everywhere we go.”

He doesn’t seem as sure of it himself now.  
“Perhaps you are right. Other races tend to be somewhat more lethargic when it comes to extended naming systems.”

The Svalen sisters look amused, but simply shakes their heads.  
They then see how Raz closes one of his fists and raising it up above the table.  
“You know what we need? Something both ferocious, grand and very easy to understand what we’re all about. ‘Doom of Dragons’! Great, isn’t it? Everyone gets it and clearly, it’s got a really cool flare as well!”

This produces some more coughing from the rest of the group, and Raz understands he’ll get outvoted just as much as the first two names. Rea smiles at him, almost a bit apologetically.  
“It’s…interesting, Raz, but perhaps what we’re looking for is something less uh…”

Katla snorts.  
“Stupid.”

“That’s…not what I was going to say!”

“But it’s what you meant.”

Rea rolls her eyes, knowing that her sister probably gains some enjoyment by stepping on it like this. She has noticed some sisterly protectiveness as of late.  
“In any case, I suppose we want something different. Besides, dragons shouldn’t be all that we’re about either. We may want a name that represents us as a team, more than anything else.”

While the rest of the group runs a whole range of words through their heads that could be combined to create a plausible name, Sov gets an idea that she feels like she might have a good story behind as well.  
“What about ‘Blood Bond’?”

They look at her, and most of them seem either confused or not overly impressed. Rea scratches the side of her head in thought.  
“It’s a bit short.”

Dae nods.  
“And not very specific either. How would that represent our team in any way?”

Sov smiles as she begins shifting her gaze through each of her team’s members.  
“Don’t you see? It speaks of the connection that each of us have made. You remember, don’t you?  
In one way or another, this guild was formed through hardship and violence, wherever we went. Almost every member had to fight side by side, before joining up with the collective.  
We have shed and shared blood throughout several battles and difficult situations, which is what brought us all together in the first place. This is how our bonds were forged.”

Realization starts seeping into their minds and an acceptance of what they’re being told. In a way, it affects them so much that no one has a comment to make for several moments, even while Sov looks around expectantly at them.  
Katla gets to be the one to show her appreciation first.  
“I like it.”

“You do?”

“Yes, and the reason behind it as well. I hadn’t thought about this angle beforehand, but you’re absolutely right – our connections cannot be explained in any better way, with so few words.”

They see Raz grinning as well.  
“Yeah, it’s actually pretty good. It’s got that slightly ferocious edge that I was looking for too.”

Dae nods quite excitedly.  
“Yes! It’s quite cool! Makes us seem like some sort of badass group.”

Ovillus is the one who appears to be the most skeptical.  
“I must admit that I am not…entirely sure of the choice of words, nor the rather shortened aspect of it. However, if everyone else are certain in their choice, then I shall not stand against it.”

Rea laughs and shakes her head at his ambiguous criticism.  
“Well, you’ve got my vote, Sovi, so that’s what we’re going for, I suppose.”

Sov smiles rather happily and grabs her mug to raise it into the air.  
“Then from this day forward, the Blood Bond guild shall begin its operations and journey throughout Tyria.  
I propose a toast in the name of this event. To a grand and glorious future for us all!”

Despite having mostly water, milk or juices in their containers, they all get their mugs, tankards and glasses up, speaking in unison.  
“To Blood Bond!”

Afterwards, they pull their cups back and drink a large portion each, feeling rather satisfied with what they have chosen to create here today, at the site of their first real victory together.  
A few moments later, Dae sits up a bit straighter in her chair.  
“So, everyone is fine with me being the first guildmaster, right?”

Once more, and definitely not for the last time this day, the dining room of the inn is filled with laughter. A sense of relief, excitement and joy fills their minds, as the possibilities for the future may suddenly seem endless.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _And that's it! The last chapter for this particular fic._   
>  _If anyone is interested or concerned, this is not the last story I'm going to write with this team. I have a whole range of ideas for smaller fics focusing on one or several of them, which would help develop the characters and their interactions._
> 
> _However, for now, this is going to have to wait a little while. I'm trying to focus a little bit on my GW1 fics at this time, because I want to get through the backstory of the team from that era. I have some uh...interesting plot elements that will connect the two generations in certain ways._   
>  _That said, I do intend to start writing Veilidh's story (Daeynwe's "big sister", if you've forgotten) pretty soon, when I manage to get a gap in my writing schedule._
> 
> _Lastly, I'd like to say thanks to anyone who read, gave kudos and/or commented on this story. I very much appreciate it and I hope you enjoyed what you went through._


End file.
